A Reflective Broner Identifies The Sport’s Best Fighter As Being Different To The Biggest Star

Junior welterweight Adrien Broner believes Terence Crawford is the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in boxing, but his teammate Gervonta Davis is the sport’s biggest star.

Broner will face Blair Cobbs on June 7 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, with the bout broadcast on pay-per-view.

Broner (35-4-1, 24 KOs) is training alongside Davis for his upcoming fight with Cobbs (16-1, 10 KOs). Broner’s mood seemed different – happier somehow – during the media workout, as his new trainers Calvin Ford and Kenny Ellis showered him with praise. Earlier this year, the 34-year-old Broner left Florida and trainer Kevin Cunningham to join Ford and Ellis in preparation for his fight against Cobbs, also 34 and a game trash-talker known for taking tough bouts. 

When asked who the best fighter in boxing is, Broner took his time to consider the question before responding.

“If I am being honest – Terence Crawford,” Broner said in Las Vegas. “If we are speaking specifically boxing, Terence Crawford, to me.”

But that declaration came with an asterisk.

“If we are speaking about who that guy is, the number-one guy, Gervonta Davis,” Broner said. “When you go to a Tank fight, it is not just a fight, it is an event.”

Broner has known Davis since he was 14 years old. Despite Davis’ subsequent success and status as one of the biggest names in boxing, he still treats Broner with the same respect.

“He always had the talent,” Broner said of Davis. “You know why I respect him the most though? Because I know a lot of people would have taken that position that he’s in now and probably would have been acting different. 

“I respect him because he still looks at me as big bro. No matter about the money, name, or fame.”