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Boxing bigmouth Adrien Broner has declared himself as the heir to Floyd Mayweather’s coveted pound-for-pound throne.
The three-weight world champion, who defends his WBA welterweight title against Argentine bulldozer Marcos Maidana this weekend, believes that his contemporaries are casting envious glances in his direction as he jostles to take over Mayweather’s hotseat.
One of boxing’s most outgoing and flashy characters, Broner has struck up a great rapport with the sweet science’s number one fighter, Mayweather, drawing comparisons in some quarters with the Las Vegas native, not only in his personality, but inside the ring as well.
The brash talking Broner, who polarises opinion amongst fight fans, is in little doubt, however, that he is boxing’s saving grace once Mayweather decides to hang up the gloves.
“I have a lot on my plate. Every boxer wants to be where I am right now,” Broner boasted. “I am the person who is going to take over boxing after Floyd Mayweather.
“Everybody wants this position. So I don’t get mad when I hear that Keith Thurman [fighting on the undercard] wants to fight me – he’s supposed to. Who doesn’t want to be where I am?” he said.
“Maidana is a good fighter, a hell of a fighter, but he’s not on my level. My career is going to the rooftop. It’s going to skyrocket. But this is just the beginning. It starts here,” Broner said.
Broner makes the first defence of his WBA crown after capturing it against Paulie Malignaggi in a split decision win last June.
He now faces a reputable puncher in Maidana, live on BoxNation, who has floored 31 opponents in his 34 victories. Yet, Broner is unconcerned – believing he will knock out his 30-year-old foe if he makes even the slightest of errors.
“If he makes a mistake and I have a chance to get him out of there – I’m going to get him out of there. If I just beat him to death, then I beat him to death,” said Broner.
“It’s going to be a hell of a fight. I don’t go for knockouts but I really feel I’m going to knock this guy out; I’m going to be his first stoppage. I’m going to stop this guy and we’re going to move on to the next one,” Broner promised.
“He’s a very respectful guy so I have to respect him, but on December 14th I’m going to beat his ass. I’m going to beat his ass for sure. We can be friends after that,” he said.
The Cincinnati fighter added he has not yet shown the world his full repertoire, stating he has many gears still to go through, with Maidana being a big enough threat to potentially take him to the next level.
“I don’t even think I’ve showed all of my abilities yet. Maidana is a different type of fighter and he might bring something else out of Adrien Broner that the world hasn’t seen yet. Or he might be a regular fighter after I make him look the way I make him look,” said Broner.
“You never know. Maybe I have to sit in there and brawl it out with this guy for 12 rounds. Maybe I mess him up in two. Maybe one,” he said.
“But who doesn’t want to see a young star on the rise like Adrien Broner fight a guy like Marcos Maidana, a hard puncher, a knockout artist with 31 knockouts? Who doesn’t want to see that? There’s always that ‘what if?’,” Broner stated.
Maidana scoffed at Broner’s claims that he would knock him out and his self perceived superstar status, declaring that he is sure it is his hand which will be raised come the end of the fight.
“I’m ready for this fight; I’ve trained hard and I’m certain I have what it takes to come out victorious on Saturday,” Maidana said.
“They might say Broner is one of the best, but I don’t think he is. He’s definitely different to any other opponents I’ve fought, but I’m prepared. I’m ready for him,” he said.
“I’m going to hit him hard, very hard, with all I have and I’ll get busy with him. I hope he’s ready, because I am,” he said.
“This is the hardest fight of my life. I respect Broner, but I don’t underestimate him. On Saturday, I’ll do my part; I’ll do what I came here for – to fight with my heart and do my best,” Maidana vowed.
The fight heads a great card which also sees the highly touted Keith Thurman go up against the unrelenting Jesus Soto Karass for the interim WBA Welterweight Title.
There is British interest when Mexican superstar Leo Santa Cruz, a potential opponent for Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg down the line, faces Puerto Rican hotshot Cesar Seda for the WBC Super-bantamweight crown.
And Beibut Shumenov faces Tamas Kovacs for Shumenov’s WBA Super & IBA Light-heavyweight titles.
Earlier, from Germany, BoxNation will also bring Juergen Braehmer’s clash with the undefeated Marcus Oliveira for the vacant WBA Light-heavyweight Title, live and exclusive.
Broner vs. Maidana is live on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546) from 12.30am this Sunday.
