Adrien Broner feels his ‘special’ performance this weekend against the ‘bone cracking’ Marcos Maidana won’t get the credit it deserves.
Having knocked out 31 opponents in his 34 victories, Maidana’s reputation as a ferocious puncher comes with merit. However, the brash talking and extravagant Broner, believes that even with victory, he still won’t get the credit he feels he deserves by beating the Argentine.
“I’m a self motivator, so I’m always motivated, but it comes with the territory of being an African-American that’s on top, and like I always say, they’re never going to give me my full respect.
“They’re never going to do it no matter if I go in there and knock Maidana out in the first round; they’re going to find some way to criticize me. I just do me.
“I just get my victories and keep moving on with my career, because at the end of the day, some of you reporters never threw a punch and none of these writers never threw a punch, so I really can’t read, or think, or take, what some of you guys say to heart because it means nothing to me sometimes.”
Broner is under no illusions that he’ll be in for a hard night’s work when he goes up against the unrelenting Maidana, a fighter he refuses to overlook.
“This is boxing. You can’t look past or beyond or before nobody, so I got to take it one fight at a time, and right now, my main focus is Marcos Maidana. The hard-hitting, the body-bruising, the bone-cracking, puncher; he’s a hell of a fighter.
“I don’t care who you fight. I don’t care who he fights. If they win or lose, they know they been in there with a tough guy, so I know this is going to be a tough fight for me, no matter if I make it look easy or if I make it look like a tough fight. I’m just ready. I’m prepared. I’m winding down in training camp and I’m just ready to go.”
The 24-year-old Broner has drawn comparisons with his idol, boxing’s premier fighter Floyd Mayweather. Not only are the two men the sport’s biggest talkers, but Broner is looking to follow Mayweather’s example in the ring by being a multi-dimensional craftsman able to adjust to any style.
“Like I always say, I always say this, I don’t fight anybody the same.
“Maidana has to show me – he has to make me respect his power and his boxing skills. You never know. When I make my adjustments inside the ring December 14th, then I’ll do what I have to do to get my victory, but until then, we just staying sharp.
“I mean, you’ve seen the fight [against Paulie Malignaggi]. Paulie’s a hell of a fighter, threw a lot of shots, but he couldn’t hit me. He couldn’t hit me with nothing flush, so with Maidana, he’s definitely a proven hard-hitting puncher, but he’s got to hit me. It’s not like I’m going to let him hit me.
“All I’m going to say to the fans and reporters is just watch the fight. I don’t care if you like me or dislike me. Just please watch the fight – you’ll see something special.”
