By Chris Robinson
In the wake of his upset loss to Marcos Maidana this past weekend, the criticism directed towards three-division world champion Adrien Broner has been hot and heavy.
Broner, one of the more brazen and brash characters you will meet in the sport, seems to be the type of guy that fans either love or hate because of his outlandish, ultra confident personality.
Broner’s fight with Maidana was one of the most compelling of the year and despite being dropped in rounds two and eight and absorbing his share of telling blows throughout the duration of his unanimous decision loss, the Cincinnati native was able to bite down in the face of adversity, showing grit and heart until the final bell rang.
All one has to do is take a quick look at various boxing forums online or scan through the social media landscape to get a sense of the backlash directed towards the former champion.
Speaking with respected trainer Naazim Richardson on Thursday evening, the North Philadelphia coach came to Broner’s defense upon getting a sense of just how much hate has been on display this past week.
Read below for a few sound bites from Richardson, as he stands up for Broner in the wake of his first professional defeat while also sharing his thoughts on what steps may benefit him and his team moving forward.
Coming up a little short…
“He came up a little short. I’m hearing all the bashing and everybody diving on him because he finally gave them what they can never get from Mayweather. We want to see a guy who talks a lot fall on their face. The public wants that and now everybody sees an opportunity to dive on him. First of all, did he lose to a bum? No. He lost to somebody special. Did he get worse than we saw other people beat? No. Did he lose any worse that we saw other people lose? No. What great fighter hasn’t lost? You can talk any way you want to. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get you to the point. And a kid like Broner, had he not talked that stuff, he may have never got to fight Maidana.”
Broner possibly underestimating Maidana…
“Some guys want pressure on them. Some guys push themselves against the wall so they can perform. I think he underestimated Maidana a little bit. Anybody who’s been in a fight with Maidana knows that plenty of kids he has hit are going to realize they’ve never been hit like that before. My son never credited anybody for hurting him and he [said] Maidana hit him in the ear in the amateurs and he was like ‘My ear was messed up for two months after that.’ That kid is special, man. He can pop.”
How Broner’s trainer Mike Stafford will assess his fighter’s return…
“Mike Stafford is very competent, effective, talented coach. He’s going to assess the kid. Mike Stafford didn’t come along with Broner. He didn’t meet Broner after a couple fights. No disrespect to any of these guys that is out here, but Mike Stafford raised that boy. Mike Stafford had that boy since he was a good six, seven years old. He raised that kid. He’s going to know mentally where they need to go and get ready for it. Maybe the kid just needs to back up a little bit. He’s in the limelight quite a bit. Back him off a bit and talk it over with the family and the team. People who he knows actually care about this dude. And make a move from there.”
Growing as a fighter…
“I give Robert Garcia as an outstanding, phenomenal coach. He does his job and he’s very committed. He’s doing a great job with those guys and Maidana is growing. His opposition alone is helping him grow as an athlete. I happened to be at the Josesito Lopez fight. That thing was some kind of tremendous. Those guys was working in that fight. A fight like that, when you survive it and you don’t come up injured, you grow. And he’s been growing. Sometimes a kid like Broner may need his opposition to grow to the next level.”
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