Training, sparring, and studying film are all enjoyable to Marcus Browne. Making weight, however, was not.

The former Olympian had a lot to think about. His activity in the ring was waning and his performances were falling short of his expectations. On December 17th, 2021, he had enough.

On the night, Browne (25-2, 16 KOs) found himself standing across the ring from Artur Beterbiev. Although he fought the Russian monster on mostly even terms in the first half, everything fell apart in the second half.

Beterbiev pounded his man, eventually dropping him in the seventh before finishing him off in the ninth. From there, Browne took a long, hard look at himself in the mirror. Not for a single second does he believe that he isn’t talented enough but the arduous weight cuts he makes in order to make the light heavyweight limit had become too much. Now, after thinking it over and packing on the pounds, Browne is making the cruiserweight division his new stomping grounds.

“I been fighting light heavyweight since I was 17 years old,” Browne told BoxingScene.com. “I’m 32 now. It was time.”

So far, the transition has been a smooth one. A more jacked-up Browne made his way to the ring this past weekend in his cruiserweight debut against Adrian Taylor. According to the three judges sitting ringside, Browne lost just a single round. Still, Taylor isn’t the best litmus test and Browne knows it.

At some point, the level of competition will change dramatically. The 32-year-old will be forced to deal with bigger men and harder punchers. Yet, facing fighters who will outweigh him by a considerable margin isn’t something that Browne is spending too much time worrying about. In the end, the former light heavyweight secondary titlist believes that his skills, along with what’s beating inside of his chest, are all that matters.

“You gotta be the smartest, the swiftest, and the guy who wants it more.”