Adrien “The Problem” Broner made his professional debut on this day stopping Allante Davis in the very first round of their fight. Broner was only nineteen-years-old at the time as he fought off-television in the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 31st, 2008. After one more hometown fight, Broner would get picked up by Golden Boy Promotions and be featured on their undercards in major venues.
Broner has since become one of the most polarizing fighters in the sport of boxing; who so much can be written about.
The Hopes
In the early 2010s, it was still the Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather era. Broner along with a slew of other names floated about was looked at as the next generation to lead boxing into the time we currently live in. Broner was viewed as the next major fighter for HBO Boxing, before all of the fighters Al Haymon managed took their talents to Showtime. In 2015, Broner was a part of the very first network telecast of boxing in the United States as he was the opening bout on television when he faced John Molina Jr, and outpointed him. Broner was set to fight on pay-per-view against Marcos Maidana, but the bout was moved to standard Showtime - and never gotten momentum he lost. Broner would lose a fight to Shawn Porter at a catchweight of 144 lbs. Broner would also lose a wide decision to Mikey Garcia, who had returned to the sport, and a one-sided loss to Manny Pacquiao on pay-per-view, one that did 400,000 buys.
Broner was hoped to be the next guy but turned into the fighter that all the major players of the era fought and beat.
Personal Struggles
Broner had a slew of legal issues, one stemming from an altercation at a bowling alley. On a more somber note, Broner has been public in recent years talking about his battles with depression and mental illness. Broner’s story is playing out like a tragedy. A fighter who seemingly was gifted so many opportunities now is feeling the burden of some of the decisions he made when he was much younger.
Though Broner, in theory, still has time. It is now up to him to find peace in his boxing career, as if he looks at a lot of peers he started with, they are ending in different places.
The Broner story is one that will be revisited a lot by modern authors of this period.
