by Kirk Jackson
The year 2013 was bittersweet for Adrien Broner (29-1, 22 KOs). Nearly reaching the pinnacle of the sport and amassing pound for pound status, he captured the WBA welterweight title by defeating Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi.
With this summer time victory, Broner earned his third world title, in his third weight class, joining Roberto Duran, Roy Jones Jr. and Robert Guerrero as the only fighters to win a world title in their first bout after moving up two weight classes.
All of this by the age of 23, and all was well for the Cincinnati-bred star. That is, until he ran into a buzz saw and suffered a tumultuous defeat by the hands of Marcos Maidana in December of 2013.
2014 was a year of recovery. Wins over second tier junior welterweight contenders Carlos Molina 17-2-1 (7 KO’s) and Emmanuel Taylor 18-3 (12 KO’s), placed Broner back in the winner’s circle.
However, the recovery cycle, along with pound for pound recognition and adoration will not be complete until he regains a world title and defeats top level opposition.
A tall task indeed, but Broner has the talent and experience to get this accomplished.
2015 should be the year of Adrien Broner and already, he has gotten off to an interesting start. He started off insulting Jay-Z and rejecting Roc Nation Sports’ contractual offer of five years and up to $40 million dollars.
Broner would apologize days later, but he certainly knows how to make a splash and keep his name in the headlines.
Another thing about Adrien Broner, he is not shy or bashful about calling out opponents. He basically put everyone from 140 to 147 lbs. on notice by calling any and everyone out, with the exception of his “Big brother” Floyd Mayweather.
Broner has plenty of options to choose from that would make sense from a fight fan and business perspective. Lucas Matthysse, a rematch with Maidana, a clash with Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley, Keith Thurman–there’s plenty of interesting match ups.
Now it matters if one of these options will be receptive to facing one of boxing’s most enigmatic personalities.
Matthysse recently stated he has no interest in facing Broner because he is in pursuit of a world title, yet he is involved in talks of fighting a fellow junior welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov.
Let’s just hope some of the other big name fighters are receptive to fighting Broner.
A meaningful fight within the next couple months and potentially a shot at a world title looms in what can potentially be a big year. The amount of fights, the names of the opponents or the potential amount of money earned is not set in stone.
While the canvas is still being painted, 2015 should be a big year for Adrien Broner.