By Nicholas A. Norman
Special to the NNPA from the Houston Forward-Times
Is there anyone who thinks more highly of Adrien Broner than Adrien Broner? Probably not.
Broner is close friends with Floyd Mayweather and considers the undefeated boxer his mentor and brother. The feelings seem to be mutual based on what Floyd has said in the past, but Broner took things a little too far in some comments he made over the weekend.
Appearing on Showtime’s set for the Lamont Peterson-Dierry Jean fight last Saturday, Broner proudly exclaimed that he is the closest thing to Floyd Mayweather. His comments rubbed boxing fans in completely the wrong way, mostly because Floyd is undefeated while Broner already has one loss, which puts them worlds apart in terms of achievement.
But what exactly did Broner mean by “closest thing to Mayweather”?
If by his comments Broner meant close in terms of friendship, he might be right. Or if he meant that he’s the closest thing to Mayweather in terms of the way he’s made himself a controversial figure in the sport, I could buy that. But the way Broner said it, it seemed like he was talking about the total package, which would include skill, ability, marketing, fame, etc. And after losing to Marcos Maidana, Broner does not belong in the same boxing conversation as Floyd.
Mayweather has never been owned in a fight the way Broner was. Never.
