On December 13th Adrien "The Problem" Broner was rising meteorically through the boxing ranks, and fast becoming the successor to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s throne as boxing's great villain.
On December 15th he was a laughingstock of sorts, after Marcos Maidana humbled the brash 24-year-old champ by knocking him down twice, and pressuring him for 12 rounds of a unanimous decision victory. Respected veteran trainer Naazim Richardson thinks the backlash Broner's faced since losing is unwarranted.
"Look here man, the kid took a beating. He ran his mouth and paid the price for it, but he took a chance with it," Richardson explained. "If he wouldn't have ran his mouth, he may never be where he is today. It's just [that] the public wants Mayweather to lose so bad that Broner is getting Mayweather's backlash."
Broner has emulated Mayweather his entire career, and considers himself a "baby bro" to Floyd. That association is Broner's current issue, and may take time for him to work out from under.
"They were hoping they could do this to Mayweather someday and it ain't happened yet because he hasn't taken a 'L' or a short, so they're giving the extra to him. He's getting that backlash from that. 'We ain't been able to say this about Mayweather.' It's just like anything, when a joker can't beat the older brother, they try to pick on the younger brother."
Currently, Broner is pining for an immediate rematch against Maidana, but there's no guarantee he'll get it. Maidana's name is mentioned often these days with Floyd's, and "El Chino" could be in line for a June payday in the form of a Mayweather fight.
Broner could likely use a "get-right" fight anyway, and a possible option could be Michael Katsidis, who retired last year after tests revealed "brain scarring" as a result of countless slugfests.
He's clearly reversed course, however, and has called out Broner in the wake of the Maidana loss. "Broner doesn't have the chin or the movement even at 140 to beat me," Katsidis wrote on Facebook and Twitter. "Having watched the Maidana VS Broner fight - I think I would knock Adrien Broner out."
The fight is unlikely to be made, with Broner planning on continuing to fight at welterweight. Also, fighting Katsidis would represent a big step down from being on the doorstep of headlining pay-per-view events.
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