By Sam Volz: Adrien Broner has pulled out of his fight this Saturday, August 20th, against Omar Figueroa Jr, saying that he has mental health issues right now that he has to deal with.
Broner vs. Figueroa Jr was supposed to headline this Saturday night on Showtime from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
There’s no word yet whether Broner’s management at PBC or if Showtime can persuade him to stick it out because it’s going to be difficult to replace him in the main event.
The former four-division world champion Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) says he needs to “make some changes for the better” in his life. “I’m not about to play inside the ring I’ve watched a lot of people die,” said Broner.
The logical question is, how long did Broner know that he had a mental health problem?
Did it just pop up, or was it in there from the start of the promotion? Ideally, it would have been better if Broner had clued his management in about his problems earlier rather than waiting until the week of the fight before revealing the issue.
‼️ Adrien Broner has stated that his fight vs Omar Figueroa Jr is OFF from Saturday night as he is pulling out due to mental health issues… pic.twitter.com/QDHQHXjVih
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 15, 2022
To be fair, Broner has looked haggard throughout the promotion of the fight, which begs the question, is he getting enough sleep? Broner has looked much older than his chronological age of 33. More like a 40-year-old.
If PBC has someone that can step in to fight Figueroa Jr (28-2-1, 19 KOs), that would be excellent. However, it wouldn’t be fair for the 32-year-old Figueroa to fight someone he’s not prepared for.
AB’s decision to pull out of the fight may have saved him from a loss because Figueroa Jr is a bad-style match-up for him. He throws a lot of punches, and there’s no way Broner would be able to keep up with him.
Broner’s comment about his belief that he’ll wind up in the Boxing Hall of Fame seems out of touch with reality because his victories have come against lesser fighters.
Although Broner has captured world titles in four divisions, the guys he beat weren’t huge talents. Broner has done little with his career since moving up to welterweight in 2012. If he’s elected into the Hall of Fame, they’ll be giving it to him for the early years of his career.
https://youtu.be/n7RifHr5pSo