Adrien Broner is out to prove he’s still a problem in the ring

Adrien “The Problem” Broner announced he likes to party, and have sex. That did not come as a surprise. During the final press conference announcing his return to the ring for the first time in two years, Broner let it be known that he’s ready to take over the sport, despite going 0-2-1 in his last three fights.

What Broner (33-4-1, 24 knockouts) still needs to find out is whether or not he can fight at a world-championship level—and if he still loves to box.

He’ll get that chance Saturday night against Jovanie Santiago (14-0-1, 10 KOs) in a 12-round welterweight feature bout on Showtime’s Championship Boxing (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) in a Premier Boxing Champions event from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

When asked what he learned about his well-documented trials and tribulations outside of the ring, Broner responded, “I learned that I can stop having sex, which is one of my biggest problems. I had to cut it all out, the partying and drinking and get serious about my career.”

Broner, 31, said he’s had one of his hardest training camps. He claims he didn’t want an easy fight.

“At the end of the day, he’s here because of me and everybody in this room is here because of me, so that’s special,” Broner said. “Saturday night, the only thing that’s going to be special is this whooping I’m giving out. He’ll know then. Santiago hasn’t been punched yet. When you punch somebody, they talk different. He ain’t going to be talking like that after Saturday.

“I went through a lot of things, honestly. One day, I just woke and said, ‘I’m done.’ In order to change, you’ve got to make change or you’ll steady get caught up doing the same thing. I cut a lot of stuff, I stopped doing a lot of stuff and I got myself together. It was a long road to get to where I’m at today and now I’m here.

“Listen, if you got a belt, just hold on to it. I’m coming to sweep it all up; WBA, WBO, WBC, IBF. I’m coming to get them all.”

For his part, Santiago says all of the pressure is on Broner, “I don’t have anything to lose. Adrien Broner has everything to lose Saturday night so he better bring his A-game against me. A win for me would catapult me into a world title shot.

“AB always puts on a show so on Saturday I have to be ready to put on my own show against AB. He is a good champion but I’ve trained really hard in the gym and I’m going to show it on Saturday.

“I think Adrien Broner thinks that I’m an easy fight for him, but he’s wrong about that. I think Broner is going to let go of his hands because he sees me as a weak opponent. He’s definitely overlooking me.

“Whatever Broner brings to the table, I’m going to be ready for it. If he moves, I’m going to move with him. If he wants to brawl, I’m going to brawl. Whatever he does, I’m going to do it better than he does.”

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on twitter @JSantoliquito.

The post Adrien Broner is out to prove he’s still a problem in the ring appeared first on The Ring.