Adrien Broner has had many ups and downs in his professional career.
Broner looked to be a potential superstar in the sport when he claimed world honours at super-featherweight, lightweight, super-lightweight and welterweight, becoming the second youngest four-division champion in history.
Questions were then raised over Broner’s discipline due to legal issues outside of the ring, and that led to the American suffering a number of defeats that derailed his career.
Inactivity has been the biggest problem with Broner’s career as of late, having competed just three times since 2019. His last outing was a unanimous decision loss to Blair Cobbs in June 2024.
‘The Problem’ has now named which of his five defeats he is glad he lost, telling Premier Boxing Champions that his loss against Marcos Maidana may have been a blessing in disguise.
“What people don’t realise is that that was one of the highest points of my career. I got more recognition from my loss than I had ever gotten for one of my wins.
“I look at that fight, and I’m like, ‘Man, that fight made me who I am today.’ Everything happens for a reason. I’m kind of glad that I lost that fight. If I had won that fight, I’d probably be dead or in jail.”
Broner fought Maidana in December 2013, with the Argentinian dropping his rival on his way to a unanimous decision victory to become the new WBA welterweight champion and end Broner’s undefeated record.
That win saw Maidana earn a showdown with Floyd Mayweather, with the first fight ending in a narrow majority decision win for Mayweather. It meant a rematch took place four months later, with the American earning a unanimous decision win on that occasion.
As for Broner, since the clash with Maidana, ‘The Problem’ has also suffered losses against the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Shawn Porter and Mikey Garcia, before that aforementioned defeat to Cobbs last year.
