Broner's scariest opponentis himself

01 October 2015 - 02:34 By Clinton van der Berg

Last year, three-weight boxing champion Adrien Broner was recorded handing a homeless man $1000 in Las Vegas. A few hours later, the recipient was beaten up and had his money stolen by a pair of hoodlums.As a metaphor for Broner's career, it could not have been more apt. Once touted as the future of boxing, the man who would be king after Floyd Mayweather's abdication, Broner's career has nosedived.The man who calls himself "The Problem" has lost two of his last five fights, although he has finagled himself a title shot this weekend, against Russia's Khabib Allakhverdiev in his Cincinnati home town.Broner' s once-golden trajectory has stalled. Marcos Maidana gave him a beating two years ago and more recently he disintegrated against Shawn Porter. His wild lifestyle is partly to blame, and, although he's a Mayweather wannabe, Broner was told by Mayweather himself that he needed more than fast hands and a fast mouth.Mayweather has always backed up his shtick with dominant performances derived from possessing the best work ethic in the sport. Broner has the mouth, but he's a lazy talent whose lack of humility isn't tolerated because he can't follow through with his boasts.Broner was flat-footed and clumsy against Porter, giving credence to the suspicion that when you strip away the hype, he isn't special.He used to be one of the most exciting fighters on the block, but his whole game has become a tired caricature, from his dad's bizarre hair-combing act in the ring to his faux gangster vibe on Instagram, where he posts pictures of himself with guns and bling.He's a fighter crying out for attention, lacking the nous to realise that he could have all the attention he wanted if he produced the goods in the ring.Boxing has a new galaxy of stars. He isn't one of them...

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