Broner Coach Nixes Theophane, Talks Porter-Thurman

Adrien Broner walked that walk, talked big and then backed it up against a pretty fair foe last weekend. He seems re-invigorated, having taken on a measure of humility, allowed some air out of his ego, and allowed that his way wasn’t the best way to keep on making positive noise in the sport.

His coach, Mike Stafford, told me that AB smartened up; he cut out the carousing, tossed some posse members curbside. And when will he glove up next, Coach?

“January, first or second week,” Stafford told me.

And um, will he be fighting Ashley Theophane…really? Ashley is solid, no diss, but hasn’t really distanced himself from being seen as ESPN FNF level… “I think that’s not going to happen,” Stafford said. That mention of Theophane was more so joshing with “big bro” Floyd Mayweather, he said, so it’s likely someone else will be standing across from AB.

The bout could once again land in Cincy, where they ushered in around 7,000 customers. Stafford says they will do more next time around. “We will get with Al Haymon, see who they want.”

Stafford says too many folks undersold Khabib Allahkverdiev AFTER his kid handled him. Also, he said AB has earned that right, as a young vet, to pick and choose his foes, so they will be on the same page with Haymon in that regard. Thus, I don’t think you can expect a callout of Marcos Maidana anytime soon…

“It’ll be who we really want, not who they want” said Stafford.

He and I discussed the fact that this is the boxing business, and that a guy who makes people care about him, loving or hating, will get more opps than a boring dude. That’s why I don’t get up in arms over a coming-off-a-loss AB getting a title shot. This is the way the world works. Yes, the world…by no means a perfect system. We work within the sometimes flimsy framework given to us, and try to shore it up, make it better, as we move forward.

Lastly, I asked Stafford what he thinks happen when Keith Thurman fights Shawn Porter, who handled AB a few months ago. “It’s a good fight,” Coach Mike said. “I take Porter. Why? Much stronger, and his will. People don’t realize, he’s a shrunk down middleweight, should really be fighting Danny Jacobs and them. The only way we’d fight him again was if he came to 140!”

Hey, also…check out this Sho All-Access epilogue to the Broner bout, here.

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