Adrien Broner is a fascinating figure in modern boxing. Despite being a four-division world titleholder, he is often viewed as an underachiever. Broner had the hand speed, power and charisma that suggested he could take over the pay-per-view market after the retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr. But it never happened.
Broner’s career is marked by legendary nights in the ring and notorious incidents outside of it. His rap career, legal issues and general inactivity – both in terms of fight frequency and punch volume – have often overshadowed his achievements.
Strap yourselves in, folks. What follows is a comprehensive timeline of Broner’s professional boxing career.
May 28, 2008
- Broner turns professional, stopping Allante Davis in 32 seconds in Cincinnati, Ohio. He claims to have an amateur record of 300-19 before his debut.
March 5, 2011
- Broner wins a controversial decision over former titleholder Daniel Ponce De Leon, despite being outpunched according to CompuBox punch stats. Ponce De Leon lands 127 out of 592 punches, compared to Broner’s landing 126 of 351.
November 26, 2011
- Broner wins his first title, defeating Vicente Martin Rodriguez for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title.
November 17, 2012
- Broner moves up to lightweight and defeats WBC lightweight titleholder Antonio DeMarco via eighth-round TKO in what is often cited as his best performance.
June 22, 2013
- Broner vacates his lightweight title, winning a highly contentious split decision over WBA welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi to become a three-division titleholder. In the process, he skips the junior lightweight division.
December 14, 2013
- Broner suffers a career-altering defeat against Marcos Maidana, losing his WBA welterweight title after being knocked down twice. With the win, Maidana is propelled into a fight with Floyd Mayweather.
June 20, 2015
- Having strung together three victories after the Maidana loss, Broner loses a unanimous decision to Shawn Porter at a 144-pound catchweight, raising questions about his future. Broner drops Porter in the 12th and final round, giving hope that the “old Broner” is still in there somewhere.
October 3, 2015
- Broner stops Khabib Allakhverdiev to win the vacant WBA junior welterweight title, becoming a four-division titleholder.
September 21, 2016
- Broner faces legal charges of assault and robbery over an alleged incident outside a bowling alley. The charges are eventually dropped.
July 29, 2017
- Broner loses a unanimous decision to Mikey Garcia in a fight in which Garcia moved up from lightweight.
2018
- Broner begins training with Kevin Cunningham in Florida, leaving behind his childhood coach, Mike Stafford. During this period, Broner also faces a misdemeanor sexual battery charge in Atlanta.
April 18, 2018
- Broner fights Jessie Vargas to a draw. Originally, Broner had been set to face Omar Figueroa Jr. Gervonta “Tank” Davis, a longtime friend and colleague of Broner’s, is featured on the undercard. This foreshadows their future collaboration, as now, in 2024, they train together once again.
January 19, 2019
- Broner is outclassed by Manny Pacquiao, losing a unanimous decision. He lands only 50 punches in the bout. Afterwards, he claims to have won the fight.
March 17, 2019
- Sexual battery charges are dropped against Broner.
March 14, 2020
- Broner is arrested for DUI in Miami.
February 20, 2021
- After a 25-month layoff and more legal issues outside the ring, Broner controversially defeats Jovanie Santiago, landing 98 punches to Santiago’s 207, according to CompuBox.
October 2021
- Broner is jailed for his failure to enter into a court-mandated alcohol treatment program.
August 13, 2022
- Broner withdraws from a fight with Figueroa, citing mental health concerns. Broner announced the decision seven days ahead of the scheduled fight date.
March 2023
- Broner signs with Don King after leaving Premier Boxing Champions. Before signing with King, Broner had been set to fight Michael Williams Jr. on BLK Prime PPV, but the bout was canceled due to a Williams injury.
June 9, 2023
- Broner defeats Bill Hutchinson in his debut with Don King, winning by a unanimous decision. He performed markedly better than he had in his previous fight against Santiago.
June 23, 2023
- Broner appears to be under the influence in an appearance on “The Danza Project” podcast, raising concerns.
November 4, 2023
- In his second fight with Don King, Broner is scheduled to fight Chris Howard, but the fight is canceled.
May 2024
- A Broner fight against Blair Cobbs is announced, accompanied by promotional materials questioning whether Broner will even show up. After parting ways with Cunningham, Broner now trains with Calvin Ford and Kenny Ellis, working beside Tank Davis in Broner’s camp for the Cobbs fight.
June 4, 2024
- In a pre-fight press conference, Broner says he is “willing to die for this s***.” He also says he has people who “have guns with them,” claims that “we done already beat bodies, and they still looking for me” and threatens Cobbs by saying, “I will shoot you in your s***.’”
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