Adrien Broner came onto the professional scene with an amateur record of 300 wins and only 19 losses. His first 5 professional bouts came by way of knockout. To date, his record is 26 wins, 22 knockouts and 0 defeats. Immensely talented, and by his own admission, “…young, fly and flashy…” Adrien Broner is a force to be reckoned with. He is currently rated as the #1 Lightweight in the world. His demolition of Gavin Reese on the headline of HBO’s Boxing after dark is a testament to his abilities. “The Problem”, his in ring moniker, has grabbed boxing’s attention for the moment. HBO has been giving him significant airtime to showcase his abilities, an investment to ultimately take the place of Floyd Mayweather once he departs the scene. Broner has handled almost every challenge placed in front of him with relative ease (sans Ponce De Leon) and seems to be living up to the hype placed upon him. Broner has been clamoring for a fight with fellow Lightweight Champion Ricky Burns for a few years now (Burns is currently scheduled to fight Miguel Vasquez) and if he does not secure it, has stated he very well make a move to 140lbs. At 140 is where the Ballad gets interesting. Currently,
Broner has had the advantage in size, strength and speed in most of his fights (at 135 or below). A move to 140 will even the playing field so to speak. The warriors at 140 are hungry, strong and have more “big fight” experience than Broner. It will be interesting to see how he handles the move. Will his handlers have him fight a lower level unranked fighter to test the waters, like a Soto? Or will Broner go straight into the lions den of Rios, Maltthsee, Garcia, Alvarado, Marquez and Khan? Any of those fights would be barn burners and become more of a reality with the lions share of those fighters fighting with Golden Boy. How would he handle the power and determination of Maltthsee? Would he be able to adjust to the speed and boxing ability of Amir Khan? Will he succumb to the pressure of a relentless Brandon Rios? What would happen when he eats a pin point counter by Juan Manuel Marquez? Will his handlers even let him step into the ring with any of those fighters?
The ballad of Adrien Broner is not so much in his immense talents or self promotion, it is more in the potential of what Broner can be, and what he is not. We see more than 50 shades of Mayweather in Broner, Floyd being Broners biggest inspiration, the way he talks and acts is almost as if he took all of Mayweathers most divisive one liners and amplified them. We see what he can be, but we do not truly see what he is. He only lets us see what he wants us to see. But there are no denying the facts, outside of the ring he has a growing entourage, multiple children by multiple mothers. He once Tweeted a picture of him on a toilet eating a Twinkie and then failing to make weight for his upcoming fight. Broner also, on a nationally televised event, managed to embarrass a young woman and mock Vicente Escobendo in the same act of asking a young woman in his entourage to not marry him, but rather brush his hair (in a previous fight Escobendo had asked his longtime girlfriend to marry him in the ring). Following in the footsteps of his idol Mayweather, Broner not only walks into the ring with a rapper, but also rapping his own songs. It is hard to tell where the Mayweather act finishes and the Broner piece picks up. Regardless, his antics are holding back his fan base. It will be hard for the American Public to truly embrace such a polarizing figure. He calls himself the missing piece of Boxing, the Savior of Boxing, Mr. HBO.....
To truly capitalize on the product that is Broner, Golden Boy must do some change management and Public Relations training on his package. Although he was impressive in a win against Reese, the showing at the gate was far from. As uniquely talented as he is, will the American Public pay to see Broner? Will they shed hard earned dollars, especially when Broner is an 80-1 over? It is interested to see how Golden Boy will meet that challenge, especially with the departure of Mayweather in the next few years. The answer is more than infusing dollars into the situation. He needs to make a connection to the American People. I believe the connection is with his past. A lot of people do not realize he has a twin brother, and grew up in crime on the streets of Cincinnati. When talking of his past, as a kid, Broner's boxing career oftentimes took a backseat to his activities on the streets of Cincinnati. "I did everything you can name," Broner says, "but when I got in trouble the last time, my mom told me, 'You can't be king of the streets and king of the ring, you gotta pick one.' I had to make a choice. I chose the ring." A lot of people he grew up with, his friends, family, are dead or in jail…. The true Ballad of Broner is a song of overcoming, of redemption, of pride and of embarrassment….of people telling him he couldn’t do it…that he was too small, too slow, that he is a cry baby (Ra’shee Warren beat him to tears). Adrien Broner doesn’t act like this because he wants to…he acts in this manner because he believes you made him what he is. He made it this far, his way, so why should he change now. He embraces the bad guy role more than Mayweather…and it is in that effect he will become his own element. He wants you to root against him; you have been doing it his whole life. It motivates him. Broner is the bad guy. And in the words from the most famous bad guy you have ever rooted for here is Tony Montana in a conversation with Manny;
Tony Montana: Me, I want what's coming to me.
Manny: Oh, well... what's coming to you?
Tony Montana: The world, Chico, and everything in it.
The Standing 8 Count
1. Golden Boy vs Top Rank….the feuding is hurting the sport guys…
2. One of the best Boxing Blogs out there, please check them out -> http://www.badculture.net/
3. Figueroa vs. Aurad is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona on March 2nd http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2013/omar-figueroa-vs-henry-aurad-on-march-2nd-from-san-antonio-on-fox-sports-networks-fox-deported-fuel-tv/
4. Amir Khan may be fighting in April in England, opponent has yet to be named, but the word from the grapevine is that it will be a tune up for a possible Championship fight in the fall
5. Michelle Rosado….She is doing big things in the boxing world, if you don’t know who she is….you better ask somebody -> http://ragingbabe.com/
6. Danny Garcia vs Zab Judah….did he really have an injury to postpone the fight? I wouldn’t be surprised if Zab squeaks away with a win….a lot of people forgot Zab did decision Malttysee…
7. A good change management plan for Broner would be to focus an agenda with Broner giving back to the community in a humble, relatable manner…..
8. The Ink Dolls of San Antonio, get to know them and their agenda here ->www.theInkDolls.com
Broner has had the advantage in size, strength and speed in most of his fights (at 135 or below). A move to 140 will even the playing field so to speak. The warriors at 140 are hungry, strong and have more “big fight” experience than Broner. It will be interesting to see how he handles the move. Will his handlers have him fight a lower level unranked fighter to test the waters, like a Soto? Or will Broner go straight into the lions den of Rios, Maltthsee, Garcia, Alvarado, Marquez and Khan? Any of those fights would be barn burners and become more of a reality with the lions share of those fighters fighting with Golden Boy. How would he handle the power and determination of Maltthsee? Would he be able to adjust to the speed and boxing ability of Amir Khan? Will he succumb to the pressure of a relentless Brandon Rios? What would happen when he eats a pin point counter by Juan Manuel Marquez? Will his handlers even let him step into the ring with any of those fighters?
The ballad of Adrien Broner is not so much in his immense talents or self promotion, it is more in the potential of what Broner can be, and what he is not. We see more than 50 shades of Mayweather in Broner, Floyd being Broners biggest inspiration, the way he talks and acts is almost as if he took all of Mayweathers most divisive one liners and amplified them. We see what he can be, but we do not truly see what he is. He only lets us see what he wants us to see. But there are no denying the facts, outside of the ring he has a growing entourage, multiple children by multiple mothers. He once Tweeted a picture of him on a toilet eating a Twinkie and then failing to make weight for his upcoming fight. Broner also, on a nationally televised event, managed to embarrass a young woman and mock Vicente Escobendo in the same act of asking a young woman in his entourage to not marry him, but rather brush his hair (in a previous fight Escobendo had asked his longtime girlfriend to marry him in the ring). Following in the footsteps of his idol Mayweather, Broner not only walks into the ring with a rapper, but also rapping his own songs. It is hard to tell where the Mayweather act finishes and the Broner piece picks up. Regardless, his antics are holding back his fan base. It will be hard for the American Public to truly embrace such a polarizing figure. He calls himself the missing piece of Boxing, the Savior of Boxing, Mr. HBO.....
To truly capitalize on the product that is Broner, Golden Boy must do some change management and Public Relations training on his package. Although he was impressive in a win against Reese, the showing at the gate was far from. As uniquely talented as he is, will the American Public pay to see Broner? Will they shed hard earned dollars, especially when Broner is an 80-1 over? It is interested to see how Golden Boy will meet that challenge, especially with the departure of Mayweather in the next few years. The answer is more than infusing dollars into the situation. He needs to make a connection to the American People. I believe the connection is with his past. A lot of people do not realize he has a twin brother, and grew up in crime on the streets of Cincinnati. When talking of his past, as a kid, Broner's boxing career oftentimes took a backseat to his activities on the streets of Cincinnati. "I did everything you can name," Broner says, "but when I got in trouble the last time, my mom told me, 'You can't be king of the streets and king of the ring, you gotta pick one.' I had to make a choice. I chose the ring." A lot of people he grew up with, his friends, family, are dead or in jail…. The true Ballad of Broner is a song of overcoming, of redemption, of pride and of embarrassment….of people telling him he couldn’t do it…that he was too small, too slow, that he is a cry baby (Ra’shee Warren beat him to tears). Adrien Broner doesn’t act like this because he wants to…he acts in this manner because he believes you made him what he is. He made it this far, his way, so why should he change now. He embraces the bad guy role more than Mayweather…and it is in that effect he will become his own element. He wants you to root against him; you have been doing it his whole life. It motivates him. Broner is the bad guy. And in the words from the most famous bad guy you have ever rooted for here is Tony Montana in a conversation with Manny;
Tony Montana: Me, I want what's coming to me.
Manny: Oh, well... what's coming to you?
Tony Montana: The world, Chico, and everything in it.
The Standing 8 Count
1. Golden Boy vs Top Rank….the feuding is hurting the sport guys…
2. One of the best Boxing Blogs out there, please check them out -> http://www.badculture.net/
3. Figueroa vs. Aurad is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona on March 2nd http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2013/omar-figueroa-vs-henry-aurad-on-march-2nd-from-san-antonio-on-fox-sports-networks-fox-deported-fuel-tv/
4. Amir Khan may be fighting in April in England, opponent has yet to be named, but the word from the grapevine is that it will be a tune up for a possible Championship fight in the fall
5. Michelle Rosado….She is doing big things in the boxing world, if you don’t know who she is….you better ask somebody -> http://ragingbabe.com/
6. Danny Garcia vs Zab Judah….did he really have an injury to postpone the fight? I wouldn’t be surprised if Zab squeaks away with a win….a lot of people forgot Zab did decision Malttysee…
7. A good change management plan for Broner would be to focus an agenda with Broner giving back to the community in a humble, relatable manner…..
8. The Ink Dolls of San Antonio, get to know them and their agenda here ->www.theInkDolls.com