Once again, Adrien Broner stole the spotlight on Saturday evening. All eyes were on him - on his flash, his arrogance, his breathtaking self confidence. The following day, Sunday, the boxing press couldn't stop talking, and writing about the man. What did Saturday's ring performance mean for Broner? Where would the popular fighter go from here? Make no mistake about it, Adrien Broner owned the weekend.
Sure, he also happened to have gotten soundly beaten at the hands of Shawn Porter in front of a live internationally televised audience, but no matter. This was Broner, after all, the guy who after the fight claimed he'd take Porter's girl out to dinner, as if that same Porter hadn't just repeatedly punched him in the face and made him look scared mere minutes earlier.
Broner, in case you haven't guessed it, is cool. And when you're as cool as Broner, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, you will still be the center of attention - so much so that you can continue to mockingly dismiss your bettors, even after they've made you look like an ass in front of millions. Why? Because you know that people will want more.
The question now, of course, is how many people will want more of Broner after Saturday. Let's face it - boxing writers and fans can be a rather mean spirited bunch. There's a tendency among their ranks to think one person demeaning another person is pretty funny stuff. They may think Broner's a joke, but they're amused by him. So boxing's public will probably continue to watch and show interest in the individual known as "The Problem."
It's questionable, however, whether or not most sports fans will get the joke. The NFL, for instance, may not be a bastion of morality, but it's hard to imagine a player with Broner's behavior and attitude getting the pass from football's media and fan base the way Broner does with boxing's.
That's not good news for the people who want to bring "the sweet science" back to the general public. The good news, of course, is that Porter was the real winner on Saturday - nice, humble, tough as nails Porter. Boxing's public may, by and large, tolerate Broner - or even like him in many cases - but the future popularity of the sport may actually rest with fighters like Porter - the nice guy who can beat up the bully.
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