Adrien “The Problem” Broner is not a happy camper in boxing. The About Billions Promotions founder is starting the promotional rounds for his Aug. 20 super lightweight showdown against Omar “Panterita” Figueroa. Still, he isn’t feeling his adviser, Al Haymon, or his network’s head honcho, Stephen Espinoza, president of sports for Showtime.
He gave them both a piece of his mind during a virtual press conference with Showtime Championship Boxing host Brian Custer recently.
Adrien Broner is not happy and quickly quits the virtual press conference for his comeback fight vs Omar Figueroa Jr on Aug 20th…
[📽️ @ShowtimeBoxing] pic.twitter.com/9zUO3lVGqQ
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) July 19, 2022
“I’m going to be 100 percent with you, Brian. I ain’t with none of this sh*t they got going on,” Broner said during the virtual media day. “I feel like Al Haymon, and Stephen Espinoza is bullsh*ttin’, because why is we doing a press conference on the computer when you got guys like … they don’t do Floyd’s sh*t on no f*cking computer when he fight a YouTuber.”
Broner is a four-division world champion, but over the past few years he has lost a step or two in the eyes of the boxing world. In the previous five years, he has only won one fight, dropping two to Mikey Garcia and Manny Pacquiao and one draw against Jessie Vargas.
During this time, a pandemic happened, forcing much of the pre-fight hype to build up online, with only exceptional circumstances for media days in person. Broner felt the now-typical method of interviewing was a sign of a lack of support for his career.
Adrien Broner virtual press conference in progress. pic.twitter.com/KqaNLsPqcH
— fightnews.com (@fightnews) July 21, 2022
“They don’t do nobody sh*t on a f*cking computer, but they want to do my sh*t on a computer, so that’s telling me they don’t give a f*ck about me. So when you say f*ck me, its f*ck y’all, and at the end of the day that’s really what I came here to let y’all know.”
With Broner more in the headlines for his recurring wayward actions that land him in a cell, many have written his career off. However, his trainer, Mike Stafford, wants the world to know that Broner is still the unique fighter that captivated the world in the smaller weight classes below the welterweight division.
“It’s never a crossroads fight for Adrien,” said Stafford. “He can always fight anywhere in the country, anytime he wants to, because he has the attitude that he’s going to win. We’re looking at it like we’re going to take over boxing again.
“A lot of people wanted him to lose, because they don’t see the skill set and the punches that he throws that truly count. People think Adrien is a regular fighter, but he’s beyond regular. He’s opened up the door for a lot of fighters. But he needs one or two more belts before we ride off into the sunset.”
Image Credit: Adrien Broner Instagram
Still, Broner’s frustrations boiling over can mean one of only two things: he will take it out on Figueroa or shrug it off and rely on his stardom to keep him fighting.
“Anybody can see it; at this point y’all bullsh*tting. Y’all been supposed to make this fight. Y’all giving us dates, y’all keep pushing our dates back. Who the f*ck do a six-month camp? Y’all tripping, so what I’mma do is tell Omar keep training your a** off, I’m training my a** off too. Let’s go in there and put on a great performance, but I’mma get the f*ck on up out of here and go back to sleep, y’all.”
To make up for the slight, Broner dropped an almost-apology on his IG page and did a rescheduled Zoom press conference from his bed. “The Problem” is back.
