Bowling For Dollars With Adrien Broner: Portrait of a Knucklehead

By Arne K. Lang

On Thursday afternoon, March 24, news outlets in Cincinnati confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued for Adrien Broner on charges of felonious assault and aggravated robbery. The story was broken earlier that day by TMZ Sports, a tentacle of the multi-media TMZ celebrity gossip empire.

The charges relate to an incident outside a Cincinnati bowling alley in the early morning hours on January 21. According to the police report, Broner was bowling for high stakes with a man identified as Christopher Carson. He lost $8,000, all the cash that he had with him, and then lost another $6,000 that he wagered on credit.

Carson told police that when he left the bowling alley he was accosted by Broner who was with a group of eight people. Broner allegedly displayed a handgun and then knocked Carson unconscious while Carson was holding his hands up. In his report, Carson asserted that when he woke up he was missing $12,000 that he had on his person.

Broner is scheduled to defend his WBA “Super World” super lightweight title against Ashley Theopane at the DC Armory in Washington, DC on Friday, April 1 in a bout that will be televised on Spike TV. It isn’t known if that bout will be allowed to go forward.

Adrien Broner (31-2, 23 KOs) won his first 27 fights. During this run, he won world titles in three weight divisions while drawing comparisons to Floyd Mayweather Jr. “He has everything in his armory: power, speed, technical finesse and sublime defensive skills,” wrote Des Kelly of the London Daily Mail after Broner destroyed Gavin Rees, a Welshman, at Atlantic City in February of 2013.

The comparisons with Mayweather went beyond the ring. Akin to Mayweather, Broner became a poster boy for objectionable behavior. His nickname, “The Problem,” took on a new meaning, as in “problem child.”

Broner used sexually abusive language toward women during the run-up to his bout with Paulie Malignaggi, a bout that Broner won via split decision. He insulted Mexicans in his post-fight interview with Showtime’s Jim Gray after out-pointing Carlos Molina. That drew a reprimand from the Nevada Athletic Commission which told him to tone things down. More recently, he appeared in a video that showed him throwing money at a Walmart cashier and throwing money from a moving vehicle.

This isn’t Broner’s first brush with the legal system. In May of 2012, he was charged with misdemeanor assault for punching a man in the face. The case was dismissed when the victim failed to show up in court.

Broner’s reputation as a boxer took a big hit when he was out-pointed by Marcos Maidana, a 5/1 underdog. His reputation took a bigger hit when he was widely out-pointed by Shawn Porter. He spent most of the fight back-pedaling and had a point deducted for excessive holding. Broner, who closed the favorite vs. Porter, talked the talk, but couldn’t walk the walk. His next walk may be into a prison cell.

We will update this story as more news becomes available.

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