By James Slater: What next for self-proclaimed superstar/future of boxing Adrien Broner? Well, considering his terrible “efforts” at making the 130-pound limit for Saturday night’s fight with the gutsy Vicento Escobeo, a full-time move up to 135, maybe even 140-pounds is what will be next for “The Problem” (as in Broner has a problem making weight!?)
Even before the 5th-round stoppage win Broner scored on HBO, the 22-year-old Floyd Mayweather Junior clone said he would be leaving the 130-pound division behind him after taking care of business against Escobedo, but maybe making 135 will prove to be too big a task for the still-growing, still physically maturing talent. Speaking with Ringtv.com, Broner DID say he plans to fight at 135 next, and that he’s targeting both Antonio DeMarco (his first choice of foe) and Ricky Burns (his second choice). But it will almost certainly be a short stay at lightweight for Broner, if he can actually be bothered to weigh considerably less than 143-pounds for his next bout, that is.
DeMarco is all-action, yet he is easy to hit and the flashy, classy (in the ring) skills of Broner would likely prove too much for him. But Burns, a big, big lightweight (who was supposed to face Broner before the Scot lost his own battle with the scales and acted professionally and moved immediately up to 135) who has a great chin, incredible stamina and amazing physical strength, would maybe just push Broner harder than anyone since Daniel Ponce De Leon.
Then, assuming Broner has kept his unbeaten record and his marketability, the talent-rich 140-pound division would welcome the latest Cincinnati Cobra with open arms. And that’s when the real fun will begin. We may have lost the mouth-watering match-up that was (maybe still is) Broner Vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa (how can the Cuban go any higher than 135?), but Broner against any of Danny Garcia, Amir Khan, Brandon Rios, Juan Manuel Marquez, Zab Judah, Mike Alvarado, Marcos Maidana, Lucas Matthysee ….. and the tantalising list goes on, would be something to get excited about.
Can Broner go on to become the superstar and the all-time great he says he can? Finding out will prove to be a whole lot of fun, especially if half of the above 140-pound match-ups get made! Despite the classless actions we saw from Broner after he’s failed to make weight, “The Problem” is a fine fighter who is great to watch and is good for boxing. His cocksure, boisterous attitude may not be to everyone’s taste, but we’ll forgive Broner for what happened at the scale last week – as long as he doesn’t get too bigheaded and make a habit of it. No fighter is above the rules of boxing, even a “born superstar” like Adrien Broner.