It’s no secret, many fans had their Christmas Wish come early when Adrien “Problem” Broner got his clock cleaned by Marcus Maidana in San Antonio, TX. Maidana fans licked their chops. They saw the cocky little clone of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. getting his comeuppance by finally facing a big puncher.
Pre-fight Broner laughed about Maidana being a threat. He wasn’t worried. In fact, he was extremely confident, or overly confident, some thought. He joked about not spouting as much trash talk as usual. He explained, the other guy doesn’t understand English, so what’s the point?
Broner’s careless disregard of Maidana as a realistic threat and his foolish view to the future contributed to his undoing. He was forecasting a kayo of the Argentinian with assurances to his fans that he would continue to show more and more of his considerable abilities with this and upcoming fights.
Well, life has an abrupt way of shaking us up, causing that rude awakening kind of thing. There’s a great joke or life’s lesson that goes, “What does God do when he sees our plans? He laughs!” For Adrien, it’s a safe bet there were more than just a few heavenly chortles and maybe even a guffaw or two when his plans were examined. However, at the conclusion of the fight, there was no Fatherly endearment over imperfections, no forgiveness. Instead, fans pelted him with howls and jeers of recrimination.
The accusations continue to the present. There are no tears of sympathy, no feelings of pity or sorrow for this defeated combatant. Fans say, he got what he deserved, etc., but just what is it he deserves? Some fans believe Broner deserves more then just his first loss. These hard hearted critics seem to feel Broner deserves being placed on the downhill road to polookaville.
Really? Has one loss told the boxing community so much that it now knows this guy, a former P4P type fighter, has been crumpled down to no more than an also ran? In order for that to be the case, it means Broner was nothing more than a pretender, and someone who never had the kind of ability champions possess.
Our two favorite critics add credence to that argument. These “You don’t know shit” brothers, Floyd, Sr. and Roger Mayweather have piped up their two cents worth…….you guessed it, “Broner and his trainer don’t know shit.” These two pinbrains add that Broner hasn’t beaten anyone, etc. Seems like their son/nephew has been accused of the same thing a time or two.
Further discussion being kicked around suggests Broner lost because he fought at the wrong weight class, which of course implies that’s why he lost to Maidana. Really? Well, that boat load (of?) has more than just a little seepage. Go through the steps……physical matchup, history of past bouts, at which weight class, etc. Then throw in the fact about which fighter was actually the stronger of the two in the championship rounds? Finally, re-read post fight comments made by Maidana about Broner being a strong and a hard puncher. He made no recommendation that Broner was fighting in the wrong weight class.
So, why did he lose? Should his loss be looked upon as a major setback, or was it a more of a disappointment (reversible)? Isn’t the loss more of a zig or zag in the road of fulfillment? Won’t he learn from this setback? Doesn’t he still posses the same abilities he had before the loss?
Of course he does, but critics need to be reminded. One loss doesn’t mean a metamorphosis has occurred, anymore than less trash talk means Broner has transformed himself into a completely different person, such as an adult from an immature one. Hasn’t happened yet, but it’s a process.
Take another look at the loss. In rounds eleven and twelve, who was the aggressor? Who was stronger? Who was still a threat to kayo his opponent? It would seem in each instance, the answer is Broner. His abilities, his toughness, and his punching power were still there at the end. In rounds two and eight, he got tagged with some unorthodox punches, but who hasn’t when fighting Maidana? He did get a needed pause in the action for the intentional head butt, but If a rematch occurs, who is going to get the smart money?
Should Broner jump at the chance of a rematch? Maybe he should try to land a rematch with Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi? It would do several things for him. One, it would be a chance for another belt. Secondly, it would give him needed work to hone his reflexes without the threat of a kayo. Thirdly, it would be against a fighter coming off a big win (Zab “Super” Judah). So, maybe Paulie is next for Adrien. Wouldn’t it be fun. He could resume his trash talking at a high level, because Paulie wouldn’t need an interpreter. Critics should have no “Problem” with that. Let him pursue his claim for the throne, the one with the hinged seat. Know what I mean? Ya see what I’m saying?