Adrien Broner Hits Out at Bob Arum After Manny Pacquiao Fight Snub
Adrien Broner has lashed out at promoter Bob Arum on social media, insinuating the Top Rank boss will not make a fight with Manny Pacquiao because of a former dispute.
Broner posted the following on his Twitter feed on Monday and didn’t hold back in his assessment of Arum (Warning: NSFW language used):
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Arum told Steve Kim of BoxingScene.com he had spoken with Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz about a possible showdown between Pacquiao and Broner, but they're looking to go in a different direction.
"We had a real nice meeting with Michael and he understands. So we're going with the original group and we'll see where it goes from there," Arum said. Terence Crawford, Amir Khan and Timothy Bradley are believed to be in contention.
As Kim previously reported, Koncz admitted he had discussed the prospect with the Broner camp, and the fighter himself posted the following on his Instagram:
In a later post, he added the following message (Warning: NSFW language used): “Don't give a f--k who I fight if @mannypacquiao want [sic] to make this fight happen in April I'm ready and if that s--t don't go thru [sic] then I will just beat the s--t out of @floydmayweather fighter @ashleytheophane in the beginning of March #PointBlankPeriod #AboutBillions.”
Pacquiao is set to fight one more time in 2016 before hanging up the gloves for good. It was anticipated that he’d announce his opponent earlier this month, but that was delayed, adding fuel to the speculation about who the Filipino could face.
Crawford, Khan, Bradley and Broner have all been touted as possibilities. Pacquiao has not been in action since May this year, when he lost against undefeated American Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas.
The FightNights.com Twitter feed thinks that for entertainment value, Broner or Khan would be the best match for Pacquiao:
There are some who would downplay Broner’s credentials to step in the ring with Pacquiao. After all, while he has unquestionable talent, the 26-year-old is a fighter who has been found wanting whenever he’s been up against a top-quality opponent.
Indeed, earlier this year he was outclassed by Shawn Porter and back in 2013, he was badly beaten up by the powerful Argentinian Marcos Maidana. So while he snatched the WBA light welterweight title in his previous bout against Khabib Allakhverdiev, there’s still plenty for Broner to prove at the highest level of the sport.
Pacquiao, although past his best and untested since his injury layoff, would definitely be the heavy favourite if they were to ever square off. Here’s a reminder of why the eight-weight world champion is revered as one of the finest fighters of his generation:
However, with Arum's quotes and Broner's latest post, it seems as though the chances of a fight materialising are gone.
But having struggled to cope with someone like Porter, perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise that Broner has missed out.
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