There have been rumors floating around social media with speculation building after several outlets reported on a potential April 9th showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner. It’s been well known that the date in question was reserved by Top Rank for Pacquiao to fight on an HBO PPV, reportedly his final fight before retirement. However, Broner’s name is new to the equation.
For the past several weeks, Timothy Bradley seemed to be the frontrunner likely to land the Pacquiao fight after the other options, Terence Crawford and Amir Khan, were thoroughly considered. In fact, Pacquiao was supposed to announce his decision a few weeks ago on a truTV broadcast of a Top Rank card. That announcement was never made as Bob Arum of Top Rank officially announced its cancelation the night before the broadcast.
It was difficult to assess the validity of the proposed Pacquiao-Broner fight, but now one of the camps has opened up about the potential matchup.
Broner posted a message on Instagram last night claiming that he is open to a fight with Pacquiao but finished by saying a fight with Ashley Theophane is still a real option.
The bout with Theophane had been proposed for months after Broner’s “big bro” Floyd Mayweather Jr. sparked a very public rivalry between the two, which prompted Broner to address the potential matchup following his latest victory on ShowTime. Broner said during his post-fight interview that he would have no issues fighting and beating Theophane – using disparaging remarks regarding his first name.
Broner’s IG post read:
I don’t give a f**k who I fight if @mannypacquiao want to make this fight happen in April I’m ready and if that shit don’t go thru then I will just beat the shit out of @floydmayweather fighter @ashleytheophane in the beginning of March #PointBlankPeriod #AboutBillions [sic].
Despite his posturing, Broner very much cares who he fights. A matchup with Pacquiao would be immensely bigger, both financially and commercially, and he would stand to gain much more from a win over Manny than he would in a win over Theophane. In fact, Broner would likely gain something from a loss to Pacquiao.
With Theophane, Broner has everything to lose and little to nothing to gain. The fight does almost nothing for him other than the assumption that he earns some status points from Floyd.
It is likely that Broner does not control either outcome. It will ultimately be Pacquiao’s decision whether or not he selects Broner. Broner needs Pacquiao much more than Pacquiao needs Broner. Despite the fact that the potential matchup between Pacquiao and Bradley has fallen flat in the opinion of fans and media alike, Pacquiao could still gain something out of it. And if Pacquiao is considering and able to land Broner, then it is plausible that Amir Khan — who, like Broner, is managed by Arum’s rival Al Haymon — is still an option and could be an even bigger financial success when you consider the international ramifications.
If Broner does not land Pacquiao, then it is probably too late to get out of the Theophane fight. I mean, it really isn’t too late and no one would blame Broner for not fighting Theophane, but the problem is Broner’s need for Floyd’s approval. There is no way Broner could pull out of that fight without upsetting Floyd, and it is likely that there would be some sort of backlash.
Even if Broner opted to fight a much more dangerous opponent, Floyd would likely start a social media campaign to discredit Broner’s decision as well as using that term which all fighter find offensive: “duck.”
