By Vince D’Writer: The last seven months have been a bumpy roller coaster ride for the former four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner, but now he’s looking forward to a smooth transition as he recently signed a promotional deal with legendary boxing promoter Don King.
Back in August 2022, Adrien Broner was set to make his return to the ring to face Omar Figueroa Jr, but a week prior to the scheduled bout, Broner pulled out of the fight citing issues with his mental health. A month later, Broner announced that he signed a 3-fight ten million dollar deal with BLK Prime.
Broner agreed to step into the squared circle on February 25th to battle Ivan Redkach, but unfortunately, Redkach had to pull out of the fight due to promotional issues. Hank Lundy agreed to replace Ivan Redkach, but ten days later, Lundy was issued a suspension by the California Commission.
Hank Lundy was on the verge of facing Ernesto Mercado on February 4th until he withdrew from the fight because he made a claim of suffering a cut while training. Shortly after withdrawing from the Mercado bout, Lundy signed on to fight Broner, and that contractual conflict led to Lundy’s suspension.
Once again, Broner was searching for an opponent, and once again the void was immediately filled as 23-year-old Michael Williams Jr replaced Hank Lundy. Approximately a week before fight night, Michael Williams Jr suffered a fractured jaw while sparring.
The 33-year-old Adrien Broner had three potential opponents, and all three matchups fell apart for various reasons. After suffering the third disappointment, Adrien Broner decided to make a public statement in regard to his status with BLK Prime.
“I’m just going to come out and let everyone know. Me and BLK Prime have decided to part ways. There’s no bad blood. They just couldn’t deliver everything that I needed at this point in my career.”
By parting ways with BLK Prime, Adrien Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) became a free agent. Life as a free agent lasted about three weeks as the former four-division world champion made a major move when he decided to team up with Hall of Fame promoter Don King.
The 91-year-old King has promoted epic bouts such as the Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” and the Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier “Thrilla in Manila.” In addition to those historic bouts, King has promoted boxing legends such as Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes, Roberto Duran, Evander Holyfield, Bernard Hopkins, and Julio Cesar Chavez.
In recent years King has remained active, but he’s been operating under the radar. King doesn’t have a television deal, as the events that he promotes are aired on pay-per-view. Now that King has added Adrien Broner to his roster, King challenged Bob Arum, Frank Warren, Al Haymon, Eddie Hearn, and any other promoter to bring forth their best fighters.
Even though Adrien Broner’s name still carries weight, his relevancy is slowly drifting away due to his inactivity. Broner hasn’t fought since February 2021, when he was awarded a controversial unanimous decision victory over Jovanie Santiago.
Adrien Broner wants to eventually fight for a world title, but for now, he needs an opponent just for the sake of finally returning to the ring. He needs to spark the interest of boxing fans, and one particular welterweight contender could be the perfect opponent for Broner.
Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs) would be an intriguing opponent for Broner. Both men have outgoing personalities, and both men need a win against a quality opponent in order to enhance their current profiles.
Don King and Adrien Broner have issued a public invitation for all promoters, but maybe they should issue a public invitation to Blair Cobbs. A potential bout between Adrien Broner and Blair Cobbs is a significant bout, and it’s a fight that fans would want to see.
As of now, there are no indications of this fight being made, but Blair Cobbs was recently on Fighthype verbalizing his thoughts on Don King teaming up with Adrien Broner and his interest in the idea of a Broner-Cobbs clash.
“Yeah, that sounds crazy. I haven’t heard of Don King doing sh*t in a while. I might actually be interested, honestly. If we can keep his a** under control with dipping in the money so damn hard that mutha f***as barely make anything for mega attractions, I’m game. Let’s do this! Don King back in action with the most exciting man in boxing! Woo!”
