Adrien Broner should be the consensus boxing prospect that each and every fan of the sport should be following with the upmost interest.
Broner will already be known to avid boxing fans, but many fans are still unaware of the super featherweight simply because his exploits haven't been discussed much outwith America.
Only 23 years old, the outlandish and cocky unbeaten fighter has generated much hype due to both his verbal knockouts and in-ring equivalents.
The most recent fight of his was against Vicente Escobedo and was somewhat surrounded by controversy after he failed to make weight and was subsequently stripped of his title.
But he still knocked out Escobedo when the fight went ahead, and his 24 wins are still in the bag.
The knockout artist now has bigger fish to fry and is planning to move up to the higher grossing lightweight division.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo.com also reports on just how highly Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer rates Broner:
He's an extremely talented guy, a very naturally talented and skillful fighter," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said. "Everything comes naturally to him in the ring. Either you have it or you don't. He has the charisma, the combinations, the power, the defensive skills, everything. He has the talent to be right on top of the list, in my opinion."
Broner does indeed have all of the requisite skills, but he is yet to put together a complete body of work that can in anyway be reminiscent of an early Floyd Mayweather.
My question of whether or not he can become the next star like Mayweather did is based on the parallels between the two fighters that are obvious: They both moved up weights in a similar fashion and both entertain with their trademark brash style of self-obsessed drivel.
But I still love it to be honest.
Mayweather is a favourite fighter of mine and Broner still has yet to compile a comprehensive list of defeated fighters like Pretty Boy Floyd.
Broner's persona is entertaining, but his cockiness will also get a little tiresome until he can really add some big names to his boxing C.V.
Broner is clearly immature and his failure to make weight for his last fight only adds to the growing list of people who will probably dislike him because of his confidence.
Although I think Broner is the boxer most likely to fill the gap when Mayweather calls it a day, he has nowhere near the working habits of, in my opinion, a top-10 fighter of all time.
Regardless, Mayweather's uncle Jeff, a respected coach and former boxer himself, rates Broner, as told by David King of yahoo.com:
"The one thing I like about him is that once the fight was over with, he called out everybody who was anybody at 135 pounds. "That in itself speaks volumes. He's still a very young fighter but, like I said, he still has tremendous belief in himself and I take my hat off to him. Because, the one thing about him, he has belief in himself and he's calling out whoever it is. He's not shying away from anyone. … He showed tremendous hand speed [against Escobedo], good power, even good defense. He used good angles and obviously, he's a very confident fighter and he has tremendous belief in himself. Once he made up his mind that he wanted to stop him, he did. He got the job done."
Calling out fighters may make Broner an easy target for boo boys, but it seems he enjoys the villain mantle much like Mayweather does.
It is obvious that Broner bases his game on Mayweather when you see that he is trying to be just as much of an in-ring technician.
Kevin Vasquez of www.boxingnews24.com notes just how similar the fighters are:
"While many fighters have employed versions of the Philly Shell, none have done so to the affect that Mayweather has; until now.Adrien Broner is probably the closest example after Floyd Mayweather, to mastering the Philly Shell. However, much like Floyd in his early years, Broner prefers to be a little more offensive (much to the pleasure of fans),and aggressive rather then staying defensive, only taking calculated risks".
Broner has all the talent in the world but that doesn't mean anything in a world where titles and unbeaten records are the be-all and end-all.
So the question is, if Broner moves up the division and beats some big fighters, can he be the next pound-for-pound king following Mayweather?
Ricky Burns, Amir Khan, Brandon Rios and Danny Garcia.
All of these fighters fight at a weight which is easily attainable for Broner—he could reach 140 pounds easily, and catapult himself into international fame and glory if he wins against a name opponent.
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