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Broner talks trash to Mayweather, hypes Theophane bout

Fighters Network
29
Feb
Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Photo: Naoki Fukuda

How strange is the relationship between Adrien Broner and Floyd Mayweather Jr. these days? Broner swore at Mayweather and then, moments later, embraced him. The bizarre but predictable scene took place at a press conference at the W Hotel in Washington DC to hype Broner’s WBA junior welterweight title defense against Ashley Theophane, April 1 on Spike at the DC Armory.

Mayweather is the promoter for Theophane. He’s also a big-brother/mentor to Broner. How would Broner process these feelings for Mayweather, who ran the news conference and sat a few feet behind as Broner spoke? By using profanity. To his credit, though, Broner did a pretty good job of explaining the different perspectives involved.

“It sounds crazy- ‘TMT’ vs. ‘AB,'” Broner said, referencing Mayweather’s “The Money Team” outfit. “Some people might say that I want to be like Floyd. I don’t want to be like no one. I admire him as a man for his work and what he did for the sport. I was going to come up here and just keep it at that because I respect Floyd so much. But then, that wouldn’t be me. So for real, I respect Floyd. I respect (trainer) Nate (Jones). I even respect Ashley. But, at the end of the day, they’re not on my f**king side. They’re not coming up here saying, ‘AB Promotions.’ So I gotta say, f**k them guys. Right now, they’re coming to dethrone me.”

Broner was just getting started. Wearing a black warm-up suit, sunglasses, a thick beard and a gold medallion as rapper Rick Ross sat nearby, Broner took aim at anyone who’s against him on April 1.



“And for me to go into a fight like they’re my friends – so, hell yeah, I’m going to beat the sh*t out of Ashley,” he said. “I respect Nate but, at the end of the day, he’s training a guy to beat me, so f**k Nate right now. And that’s just what it is. I’m telling you this is going to be the best performance on my career. I’m talking about highlight-reel performance. I ain’t coming to just get a win.”

Broner then referenced his last fight, a 12th round stoppage against Khabib Allakhverdiev for the vacant WBA title in October.

“In my last fight, I finally stopped someone again,” he said. “Coming up, that’s what I used to do all the time. So now, I want to keep feeling that feeling. This fight is not going four rounds. That’s probably too much. Nine minutes is too much,” he said – as someone in the crowd yelled that four rounds actually equals 12 minutes. “Just like a virgin, for the first time – it’s going to be quick,” Broner went on. “It doesn’t matter what Floyd can teach him or tell him because, at the end of the day, Ashley has to fight me. I’m going to torture this guy, for real.”

Broner then hugged Mayweather. He continued the trash talk as the fighters posed off with Mayweather standing between them. At one point, Mayweather seemed to sense things were getting a little heated and walked away saying, “I don’t fight no more.”

Broner then announced that he was leaving. When his publicist said he was scheduled to do interviews, Broner invited the assembled media to his gym to talk to him. “I’m available for interviews,” Mayweather said to laughter. And he was, sticking around to chat with reporters.

Earlier, Mayweather, who wore white pants, a red sweater, long red rain boots and a newsboy cap, struck a surprisingly modest tone on stage while promising to promote the bout all over DC.

“I want to see these fighters break my records,” he said. “I want to see these fighters surpass me. I was able to retire the sport with all my faculties and not let the sport retire me. But it’s really about these guys.”

 

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