(Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/Mayweather Promotions) By Chris Williams: In a little over a month from now, WBA light welterweight champion Adrien Broner (31-2, 23 KOs) makes his first defense of his WBA title against Ashley Theophane (39-6-1, 11 KOs) at the DC Armory, in Washington, DC.
The 26-year-old Broner said earlier today at his DC press conference that he sees himself as the replacement for Floyd Mayweather Jr. in taking over the sport of boxing. It’s unknown if Broner said this to get on the nerves of Mayweather or if he truly means it. Mayweather is Theophane’s promoter, and he was at the press conference with his fighter today.
It’s quite possible that Broner does believe that he’s going to be the one to take over boxing and carry the sport on his back for a decade or so until his replacement is discovered. Broner needs to beat Theophane in style on April 1, and then look to beat some of the higher caliber fighters at 140.
Broner has said that he’s open to fighting at welterweight. He might need to if he wants to carry the sport because there simply aren’t enough big names in the light welterweight division for Broner to become the guy that replaces Mayweather.
“At the end of the day, Floyd and Ashley aren’t on my side. I’m against them. They’re coming to dethrone me. They’re my enemy right now and I’m going to beat Ashley down,” said Broner at today’s press conference. “I want everyone to come out. Big brother Floyd Mayweather is gone, everyone else is too boring, so I’m taking over the sport.”
It’s true that there isn’t anyone with Mayweather’s talent that can carry the sport right now. That’s why it’s important for Broner to step up to the plate to show the boxing world that he can be the one to become the replacement for Mayweather.
These are the potential Mayweather replacements in the sport:
Adrien Broner: Of all the fighters that can potentially replace Mayweather, Broner has the best chance. He has the style, the power, the moves and the personality. What Broner doesn’t have right now is the match-making. He needs to continually be matched up against the best in the sport in each fight for him to make it to the point where he replaces Mayweather. Broner’s last fight against Khabib Allakhverdiev was a disappointment because it was a B-level opponent instead of an A-level guy. Broner’s fight on April 1 against Ashley Theophane is even worse than the Allakhverdiev fight. This is a race to the bottom for Broner, and he’s got to do better than this. If it’s his adviser Al Haymon that’s doing to the match-making for Broner, then he needs to override his controls and tell him that he needs to be fighting the best. Broner cannot become a PPV star fighting guys like Theophane. That’s a waste of time. Broner needs to be in with the very best if he wants to replace Mayweather. You can’t just talk about it. You have to do it, and this fight against Theophane is not going to do it for Broner.
Gennady Golovkin: Still isn’t a pay-per-view attraction, and may never make it to that level. He’s a long shot to become a replacement for Mayweather. Golovkin smiles a lot, but he doesn’t seem able or willing to speak in the blunt way that Mayweather was known for. Therefore, I don’t think Golovkin can ever truly connect with many hardcore and casual fans.
Terence Crawford: Not being matched against the level of opposition needed for him to replacement Mayweather. Additionally, Crawford does not have the personality, hand speed, defense or reflexes to replace Mayweather.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez: – Too slow, too flat-footed, too easy to hit, and too one-dimensional. Canelo is still the replacement for Mayweather by default due to his large fan base in the U.S. Canelo hasn’t done much to earn the huge following, but it’s there nonetheless.
Amir Khan: Good hand speed, great skills and a good talker. He’s from the UK, and hasn’t fought the level of opposition that he’s needed to in the last four years. If Khan can beat Canelo in their fight on May 7 and continue to beat A-level fighters, then he has an outside chance of replacing Mayweather. It’ll depend on Khan beating Canelo and continuing to beat other good fighters. If Khan beats Canelo and then goes back to fighting weak opposition, then I don’t see him getting to the next level to become Mayweather’s replacement.
Shawn Porter: I don’t think Porter has the talent or the charisma to be Mayweather’s replacement.
Roman Gonzalez: He’s a good fighter, but he’s not going to replace Mayweather if he stays at flyweight. It’s not a highly visible division. Gonzalez will need to move up to at least featherweight to have a chance to replace Mayweather. Even at that weight, I just can’t see there being enough interest in Gonzalez for him to replace a superstar like Mayweather.
Keith Thurman: “One Time” Thurman does a lot of talking, but his fighting style isn’t entertaining to watch. Thurman moves constantly when fighting and he looks afraid much of the time, even with the mostly weak opposition he’s been fighting. Thurman has the talent to replace Mayweather, but he does not fight in the right way and he comes across as too cocky.
Broner just won his WBA title last October in beating Russian fighter Khabib Allakherdiev by a 12th round knockout. It was an improved effort from Broner from his previous fight against Shawn Porter earlier last year in June 2014. Broner was outworked in that fight in losing a 12 round unanimous decision. Broner averaged only 25 punches thrown per round in that fight. Against Allakherdiev, Broner improved on his work rate and fought a lot better. However, he didn’t have to worry about being hit as hard in that fight because Allakherdiev didn’t have the same kind of punching power that Porter had going for him.
“There’s nothing Floyd can teach [Theophane]. At the end of the day, it all goes out the window. The trainers and entourage can’t help. They can’t help Ashley Theophane,” Broner said.
Comments are closed.