Adrien Broner is one loss away from retirement. However, his coach Mike Stafford believes the fighter has two more world titles in him.
“The Problem” faces Omar Figueroa later this month in a long-awaited return to the super-lightweight division. The weight class seems packed with big-name stars moving up or down in weight.
Battles with Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, or Gervonta Davis could lie in wait. But first, Broner has to come through Figueroa.
A career at stake for Adrien Broner
If he doesn’t, there doesn’t seem like any further career avenues for Adrien Broner.
At this point, Stafford is not looking further than the next fight despite revealing those title aspirations.
“It’s been a long camp. We’ll definitely be ready for this fight on August 20,” stated Stafford regarding Broner going through ten weeks of training before the Figueroa fight was confirmed for a pushed-back date.
“It’s never a crossroads fight for Adrien. He can always fight anywhere in the country, whenever he wants. We know that’s because he has the attitude that he will win.
“We’re looking at it like we’re going to take over boxing again.”
People want him to lose
On comparing Broner to Floyd Mayweather in terms of likability, Stafford added: “A lot of people wanted him to lose. They don’t see the skillset and punches he throws that truly count.
“He actually dropped Jovanie Santiago [in his last fight] but didn’t get a 10-8 round for it.
“A lot of people talk about Adrien, but they’re not in the ring taking shots from him and seeing the skills he has.
“Adrien just wants to get back in the ring and prove that he’s the top dog again. He’s training his a** off to prove to the world that he’s coming.
“Most of Adrien’s stoppages came below welterweight. When he was at 147, he would never even weigh in at that limit. I think this is definitely his comfortable weight.
“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.”
Figueroa is the underdog
Figueroa is a slight underdog to end Broner’s career on August 20. The Texan is coming off two losses and needs a win himself to get back on track.
But there’s certainly more on the line for Broner, primarily due to his well-documented out-of-the-ring troubles. Two spells in the hospital during the pandemic had fans worried.
Broner battled back from shocking images of him stuck in a wheelchair. He’s come this far and has to prove his ability to the world again at 33.
One false move is the end of the road for the four-weight world champion.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
