Broner’s Future With PBC/NBC in Jeopardy?

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    Adrien Broner Gun

    Adrien Broner is coming off the second loss of his career. Broner lost the much-anticipated showdown against Shawn Porter by unanimous decision, despite forcing Porter to agree to 144-pound catch weight, even though Broner is a former titlist at welterweight (147lbs).

    The camps were heated in the lead up to the fight as Broner and his trainer, Mike Stafford, tried getting to Shawn by attacking his father/trainer Ken Porter.

    There were a few accusations made by Broner and Stafford that were straight up spiteful, although Broner has used these sort of tactics before where he brings up non-boxing related issues to get under his opponent’s skin.

    Typically, fighters are embracing after the fight’s conclusion, and Shawn and Adrien were no different. The same cannot be said about Ken and Adrien, however.

    After the fight, Ken refused to shake Adrien’s hand, presumably because of the sour taste in Ken’s mouth from the things Adrien said days before at the fight week press conference.

    Then, after Broner suggested he and Ken fight, Ken pushed Broner away, which created waves on social media.

    Shawn and Adrien are both natives of Ohio and have spent time together since their amateur days.

    In fact, Ken told ThaBoxingVoice.com that Broner and Shawn have sparred in different camps for various fights.

    This was only one factor that added to the surprise of this matchup being made.

    The truth is, Porter-Broner was never on anyone’s radar and few could guess that we would see them fight in 2015. It seemed unlikely because both fighters have the kind of potential that could’ve been milked for a bit longer.

    The fact that they fought was very intriguing and many suggested that this was a “cash out” fight for one of these fighters. The general consensus was that Adrien was being cashed out.

    He has fought relatively soft competition since suffering his first loss to Marcos Maidana in December of 2013, then all of a sudden he was thrown into a fight with the bigger, stronger Porter.

    There were other factors at play which added to the speculation of a Broner cash out.

    For one, rumors were circulating that NBC has been unhappy with Broner after the news broke of his DUI arrest shortly after appearing on the network in the debut of Al Haymon’s “PBC” brainchild.

    The video surfaced in April, which only made matters worse.

    The negative attention was bad, but it was only part of Broner’s overall destructive behavior and outlandish conduct.

    During the lead up to the Porter-Broner fight, ThaBoxingVoice.com learned from several sources that speculation was growing in the background that Haymon was indeed tired of Broner’s antics.

    Of course, it is impossible to know whether or not Broner was indeed being cashed out or if there was even a connection.

    On Broner’s part, he doesn’t seem to be handling his latest loss well, then again who does? Broner made some unsavory comments in the post-fight interview on Saturday night, saying that he would take Porter’s girl out when asked if things were squashed from a personal perspective. But Broner has taken things to a different level with his latest social media post.

    In the picture above, you see Broner toting what appears to be a fake gun, though you never truly know, and with it a written post that said: “Fu** all that boxing sh** dog, I’m boxing sh** for real,” @adrienbroner.

    I don’t know why Broner would think such a post would be a good idea at this point, especially when you consider Haymon’s efforts to clean up the image of his PBC fighters.

    Haymon has instituted a lot of changes from dress code to overall conduct, similar to the changes the NBA instituted years ago in an effort to better the image of the sport.

    This post could be Broner being Broner, and there may be no real reason to dissect his decision to completely contradict Haymon’s efforts.

    However, there is speculation surrounding Broner’s future with PBC, specifically with him competing on future NBC cards.

    There are rumors going around that Broner could receive his outright release from the PBC brand, although that seems unlikely as he maintains a tremendous commercial appeal, regardless of how he’s perceived.

    However, ThaBoxingVoice.com has learned that a decision is coming that will decide whether or not Broner will continue to receive high-profile fights on major networks.

    Broner’s behavior could be an indication of his advanced knowledge of things to come.

    Broner might be trying to get in front of the situation by maintaining a nonchalant attitude towards everything.

    I don’t want to suggest a preemptive retirement, but if Broner is shaking the tree then his feelings could be related to his acknowledgment of the predicament.

    Regardless, Broner is clearly not in the necessary frame of mind to rebound in a positive way following his second major loss.

    Instead, he is reverting to the destructive instincts that have caused his own downfall. Stay tuned for the aftermath that will surely follow.