Former four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner opens up in an extensive interview with Sports Emmy® Award-Winning writer Mark Kriegel as he prepares for his welterweight showdown against top-rated contender Adrian Granados Saturday, Feb. 18, live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from Cintas Center at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
This interview is the latest in a reoccurring SHOWTIME Sports® digital series, THE REVEAL with Mark Kriegel, featuring exclusive and in-depth interviews with boxing’s emerging stars.
Broner is one of the most accomplished and outspoken young stars in the sport of boxing. After picking up world titles at 130, 135 and 147 pounds, Broner earned a belt in a fourth weight division (140 pounds) in October 2015 when he defeated tough Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev via a stoppage in the 12th round in his last hometown appearance. He’s 9-1 in world title fights and this will be the 15th time he fights as a pro in front of his hometown crowd.
Below are bites from the interview:
KRIEGEL: “You’ve been around a lot of death. You’ve seen a lot.”
BRONER: “Yeah.”
KRIEGEL: “Do you care to remember for me?”
BRONER: “I remember, but I try to forget. You know, I found out the hard way. And I’ve seen that I gotta maneuver different and that’s why I’m maneuvering differently. That’s why I put as many positive people in front of me as possible.”
MARK KRIEGEL: “Let me ask you about this year. It’s been a tough year for you. You did 30 days for contempt. What was that like?”
ADRIEN BRONER: “You know, I did a year at that place. Fighting a case.”
KRIEGEL: “As a juvenile?”
BRONER: “No, they tried me as an adult. I was only 17 at the time… I missed on the pre-trials. Boom. I beat it. I get out and I become Adrien Broner. My lifestyle is totally different. And then, one day, I wake up back in the same place—I was in one of the same [cells] I was in when I did the year.”
KRIEGEL: “What did you tell yourself?”
BRONER: “I made it the best that I can make it. But, you know, when I was in there. I used to be by myself. I used to try to be by myself as much as possible. But, I told them to put me in general population—because they wanted to put me in protective custody. I can’t do 30 days like that… I helped the whole unit…I just made it a better place at the time. If somebody needs something to eat, I gave them something to eat.”
