Rocking Gucci sneakers and gold grills, Adrien “The Problem” Broner answered questions in a crowded lobby for reporters
“Listen, I won’t ever have another hard fight,” Broner said as reporters fired questions left and right.
Broner (30-1, 22 KO) was able to establish the pace of the fight to his liking and used his superior speed to keep Molina at a distance. Although Molina is known to possess an eraser of a right hand, he was not quick enough to time and counter Broner, who simply jabbed and boxed his way to a decision.
“Adrien Broner is versatile,” Broner said in third-person, like his mentor Floyd Mayweather often does. “I can fight, I can box, (and) I can bang.”
Broner was riding a two-fight win streak heading into the Molina bout, both by unanimous decisions over decent opposition in 2014. Prior to that Broner found himself in his first “hard fight” against the rugged Marcos Maidana (35-5, 31 KO) of Argentina.
Broner suffered the first defeat of his career but not before being dropped twice by the hard-punching Argentine. Broner got up both times and fought back in a tough fight that many expected would be a cake walk for Broner. He learned from that experience at 147-pounds and dropped down to 140, where he is expected to have more success.
Broner’s decision win over Molina took place on the debut of Premier Boxing Champions on NBC. Although Broner won on points and looked sharp doing it, many fans were hoping for a knockout. However, Broner is happy with himself for not taking any risks in the fight.
“It was good experience,” Broner said. “I’m just happy I went out there and made it an easy fight.”
Broner said that he was maturing, as he gets older, claiming that there were occasions during the Molina fight where he would have committed antics had the fight been on HBO or Showtime.
“I can see it, I can feel it,” Broner said about maturing. “Because there was a couple of things I would have done on Showtime or HBO but like I said, I don’t got to do those crazy stunts no more.”
With his talent, Broner never had to do crazy stunts like he did during his premium cable days. Fans tune into boxing to see hard-fought scraps, not stunts or raps and during his rise; Broner delivered what all fans long for, a knockout.
Broner certainly proved that he is still a major talent as he left fans wanting more last Saturday night. Even “Sugar” Ray Leonard, who was commentating the fight for NBC, wanted to see Broner finish the fight in a way that would have left fans excited about future fights, not booing and possibly turning them away from the sport.
“Broner has to close the show,” Leonard said in the twelfth. “That’s what champions do, that’s what stars do, that’s what fighters do.”
Fans already know how desperate Broner is to be a star, but they need to be reminded how much Broner wants to be a fighter, and a knockout would have done just that.
