Adrien “The Problem” Broner moved up two weight classes to take on WBA Welterweight Champion Paulie Malignaggi last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Broner won a controversial split-decision to become the new WBA Welterweight Champion. Leading up to the bout, Broner and Malignaggi had engaged in a war of words which is common in the world of boxing. Once the fight was over it appeared as cooler heads were ready to prevail as Malignaggi appeared to go over to congratulate Broner on a good fight. The peace treaty was short lived as during Broner’s in-ring post-fight interview with Showtime’s Jim Gray, Broner insulted Malignaggi by saying “I lifted his belt and his girl”. Malignaggi was already upset about losing such as close decision in his native Brooklyn and instead of Broner leaving well enough alone, he almost started a riot in the ring.
Broner is 23-years old and he fancies himself after WBC Welterweight Champion Floyd Mayweather, but at some point you must learn to leave well enough alone. Malignaggi was ready to close the chapter on everything when Broner hit him with a verbal roundhouse. There is an unwritten rule that when men are throwing verbal jabs at one another that you leave another man’s family or in this case (side piece) out of the matter.
What Broner needs to worry about at the present moment is how he plans to improve his skills at the welterweight division. This was the first time in his professional career that Broner went 12 rounds, but he left a lot on the table. Broner moved up two weight classes for this fight, but he wasn’t able to dominate Malignaggi in the fashion that most people expected him to. I felt that the bout with Malignaggi was a draw as Broner spent too much time in the fight being inactive looking for a knockout punch that never came.
The welterweight division is full of crafty fighters like Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Timothy Bradley who will be tougher opponents for Broner which will leave little room for him to “give away” rounds like he did.
Broner’s antics are starting to catch up to him as people are beginning to take a step back and remove themselves from cheering for his childish antics. If you’re going to talk the talk, then you must walk the walk. Broner has to this point been able to back it up which is evident by his 27-0 record., but he has built a reputation of not climbing into the ring with a fighter on his level. For a tuneup fight at the 147-weight class, Broner can be happy with the victory over Malignaggi, but he still has a ways to go to climb to the ranks of boxing’s elite with Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez.
Broner will continue to be a marquee fighter on HBO and Showtime, but what happens when a loss comes? Broner’s antics which include him getting his hair brushed after a fight as if he is Apollo Creed and putting on the “Mr. T starter kit” after his fights are good for now, but it will be hard to talk after a bout when you’re eating humble pie.
In order to succeed you must go through some humility and adversity. LeBron James had to take a step back after the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. Most boys strive to defeat their father’s in sports, but it is generally tough to accomplish at first. Right now Broner has made a name for himself in boxing as he is still ascending the ranks, but over confidence can hurt him. With a tougher opponent around the bend eventually, Broner could potentially learn this lesson and it will be interesting to see how he responds.
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