Adrien Broner: “Boxing is a Lonely Sport!”
Depending on how you look at it, four-divisional champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-4-1, 24ko) is either famous or Infamous. The Ohio native is talented and knows how to entertain the crowd. Many felt he was going to be the heir apparent to the Floyd Mayweather throne.
THE RISE AND FALL
The “Can Man’s” (as he has dubbed himself) career was taking off fast! He won titles in both the junior lightweight and lightweight division coupled with his natural flair for pleasing the crowd.
He had the eyes of the entire boxing community and a big-brother type of relationship with then pound for pound kingpin Mayweather made the spotlight even hotter.
Broner was clicking on all cylinders. So much that he created the alter ego “AB”. Meaning “About Billions”!
The ability of the flashy and flamboyant fighter was captivating. Usually capped-off with the “brush my hair” antic after a victory. However, antics outside the ring started becoming a problem for…The Problem.
The beginning of the end of the four-divisional champion’s career came at the hands of the Argentine brawler Marcos “El Chino” Maidana (35-5, 31ko) in December 2013.
After capturing a title in his third division, and then making a first defense of the WBA welterweight championship against “El Chino”, Broner would suffer his first defeat. Things have spiraled out of control ever since.
Then issues outside of the ring started taking a toll on his career. Slowly over the years, the in-ring accomplishments were being overshadowed by legal issues to the point were questions about his mental state of mind were posed.
THE COLD HARD TRUTH
Although Broner still has legal issues, including an incident that almost derailed a high-profile 2019 fight with WBA champion Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao, the former champion seems to have a more calm nature surrounding him now.
During an interview with Brian Custer on The Last Stand podcast, “AB” was very open about his issues and being at peace while serving seven days behind bars.
“Let me tell you I was more at peace in jail. Nobody could call me, nobody could ask me for anything. I didn’t have to spend no money. I was at peace man.”
When discussing how other sports are involved with helping athletes on mental health issues, Broner didn’t hold back about why boxing won’t make the type of effort.
“See I am in a sport where they don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t care. After you fight, nobody calls you. No one cares about what you do.
“Boxing is a lonely sport, and nobody will ever understand until they’re in it!”
The former champion acknowledged that a lot of his troubles were self-inflicting, and now has a different mindset.
“I’ve grown a lot and I handle things differently at this point. But I am not thinking about boxing right now.”
“I do more thinking before I do things now. At first it was like on go. I never thought about it just did it. That got me into certain situations.
“But now I think about things and try to do things the right way.”
Several fighters have expressed the hardship of dealing with mental issues and depression after leaving the squared circle. They often go through these struggles alone.
Broner seems to have put a lot of the craziness behind him, and whether he returns to the ring, hopefully, he will maintain this new state of mind.
By: Garrisson Bland
