By Chris Williams: Floyd Mayweather Jr. is being talked about facing former four-division world champion Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner next. Floyd’s uncle Jeff Mayweather isn’t sure if he’ll be facing Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs) or not, but he sees this as a winnable fight for him.
An in-shape Broner could give Mayweather problems if he’s not at his best. What we saw in Mayweather’s last two matches against Conor McGregor and Tenshin Nasukawa was a fighter that had lost a lot of hand speed. Broner, 31, will have a good shot at beating Mayweather with the way he looked in those two performances.
Broner’s problems with his punch output will be his undoing against Mayweather, according to Jeff. Adrien simply doesn’t throw enough punches to beat the upper-level fighters, and that’s been resistant to change.
Even against the lesser fighters that Broner has faced in recent years, he’s been unable to increase his punch output.
Floyd, 43, is in training right now for what many boxing fans feel will be a comeback an unknown opponent. UFC fighters Khabib and Conor McGregor are assumed to be on Mayweather’s shortlist for his next fight, but now Broner’s name has surfaced as the guy that he’ll be facing next. It could be an exciting fight with all the trash-talking that Broner and Floyd will be doing during the build-up.
Mayweather made Broner what he is
“That’s one of those things that have been tossed around for years because Adrien basically looks up to Floyd, and sometimes he hates Floyd,” said Jeff Mayweather on the Mayweather Boxing Channel. “It’s one of those situations where without Floyd, Adrien Broner never would have been the person he is.
“Once Floyd said, ‘This is my little brother, that’s what made him big as he is. And then him trying to act as if he’s the second coming of Floyd. The reality is, as far as their skills, Adrien Broner, he would never be as good as Floyd ever was. I don’t know if he likes Broner or not.
“I don’t know what their situation is. It seems like at any given time; they seem like they’re friends. Then the next thing you know, they’re not friends. I don’t know. I’m not part of that circle that it involves.
“I don’t know if they’re friends or not friends. If they are friends or not friends, still, they can make a whole lot of money together,” said Jeff.
Broner got a big headstart with his pro career in Mayweather, frequently bringing up his name, and letting boxing fans know about him. It didn’t hurt that Broner appeared to be copying Mayweather’s fighting style, which he did a fair job of imitating early on.
When Broner fought at super featherweight and lightweight, he was able to get away with his low punch output because his power went a lot further in those weight classes. Broner and Mikey Garcia are similar in that respect.
Both guys were able to get away with having low punch outputs because their power was so much better in the lower weight classes.
Broner’s poor punch output would hurt him
“I think Broner because of his lack of output, Floyd would have no problem with him,” said Mayweather. “Any guy that doesn’t let their hands go is not going to beat Floyd. How can you? I don’t think Broner is a threat like Errol Spence or Terence Crawford,” said Jeff on those two fighters being a threat to Mayweather.
“It would be different if he changed, but every fight is the same. Every time he fights, it’s the exact same thing,” said Jeff on Broner, failing to increase his punch output each time he fights.
“Now, even against the lesser guys he fights, he’s still not doing nothing,” said Jeff.
Mayweather lacks a high punch output as well, but he would have the hand speed and the reach advantage to output Broner without getting hit. It still won’t be an easy fight for Mayweather because he’s been out of the ring for five years against real boxers.
You certainly can’t count Mayweather’s fights against McGregor or Tenshin as real fights against talented fighters. Those fighters are from a different sport, and it’s like dragging in an NFL football player and using them as an opponent.
Jeff Mayweather: Broner is a safe fight for Floyd
“I take my hat off to Broner. I’m not going to disrespect him because he’s achieved a lot as a fighter,” said Jeff. “Not only that. He’s also good at marketing himself. Win, lose or draw, he’s still one of the biggest attractions out there in boxing.
“You can say that he talks s*** or whatever. He knows how to make money. Whether he deserves it or not doesn’t matter because there’s a market out there for everything, and he’s tapped that market. Out of all the young guys out there for someone to fight, I would say that Adrien Broner would be the safest for Floyd to fight.
“I think it would be a great build-up,” said Jeff on a fight between Broner and Mayweather. “Adrien could probably get under Floyd’s skin. I think he’s one of the guys out there that probably get Floyd to open his mouth again. As Floyd has gotten older, he’s tended to let whoever talk the way you want to. ‘I’m going to regenerate.’
“That’s what he does, and he does it well,” said Jeff on Broner, being good at trash talking. “I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing. It’s a good thing because it’s getting him paid. If that works for you, then why not. Broner and Floyd, if that fight were to happen, even at 43, Floyd would beat Broner and beat him fairly easy,” said Jeff.
The Broner that we saw in his last fight against Manny Pacquiao won’t be a “safe” fight for Mayweather, but it’s a winnable one for him.
Adrien Broner is making more money than Errol Spence
“You do have to take your hat off to Mayweather because he found his niche,” said Jeff about Broner. “Once you find your niche in something, he’s [Broner] making more money than Errol Spence and more money than these guys that are considered better than him and have accomplished more than him.
“But at the same time, they’re not seeing the same kind of paydays that he’s seeing. He’s getting big paydays against almost anybody. Let’s put it this way. In this situation, Floyd would be the good guy. For the first time in his career, he would probably be considered the good guy.
“There’s always a guy that steps foot inside the ring that is considered the good guy and one that is regarded as the bad guy. Once that fight starts, that’s what perpetuates it.
“You’ll hear it through the announcers or whatever. Even if you have both of them that are considered the bad guys, you take the lease evil to become the good guy. Floyd would be that because of his maturity of him starting to get older,” said Jeff.
Broner’s net worth is $9 million compared to Errol Spence’s $7 million and Terence Crawford’s $6 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. However, Broner has been fighting four years longer than Spence. Crawford and Broner both started their professional careers at the same time in 2008.
Spence is lagging when it comes to his ability to market his fights on the level that we’ve seen from Broner.
Broner isn’t a threat to Mayweather
“He’s going to respond. You’re going to see a little bit of the old Floyd if it ever happens, and coms to fruition,” said Jeff about Mayweather doing some trash talking if he faces Broner. “You’re not going to see the Floyd of old. I don’t think you’re going to see the young Floyd. And
“I think you’re going to still see the mature Floyd that has less to say than he would back when he was young. I think Oscar [Dela Hoya] because Oscar was trying to be a good guy,” said Jeff when asked which opponent Mayweather did the most trash-talking with.
“Floyd got under Oscar’s skin so bad because Oscar knew in his mind that the fan build-up was for him. But when you have a guy that talks that much shut to you in your face, and then beats you, it makes you feel like s***.
“I hope that Floyd retires, and just walks away from the game and has a great legacy. But do I think he can beat Broner? Yeah, I think so. If he wants to add Broner to his legacy, then fine because I don’t see Broner as a threat,” said Jeff.
If Broner can somehow increase his punch output to where he can throw sustained combinations, he’ll have a shot at beating Floyd. It’s doubtful that he can, though. Broner doesn’t have the gas tank to throw a lot of shots.
