After a two-year break, four-weight champion Adrien Broner say he feels revitalised and ready to add more championship belts to his collection, ahead of his welterweight clash with unbeaten Puerto Rican Jovanie Santiago at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Saturday night.
In January 2019, the outspoken Broner suffered the fourth defeat of his polarising career in a clearcut decision loss to the ageless Manny Pacquiao. Blighted by issues outside of the ring, with his powers apparently on the wane, Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs & 1 NC) stepped away from the sport.
But now ‘The Problem’ has returned, refreshed and recharged. As ever, the Cincinnati maverick is talking a great fight as he takes on Puerto Rican puncher Santiago (14-0-1, 10 KOs) on Showtime on Saturday.
“I feel like I’m going to be a world champion again, again, again and again. Until I’m really done with boxing,” sad Broner. “Yes, I took two years off from boxing, retired and let my body heal and rest. I just feel like I’ve got what it takes to win more championships in different weight classes so that’s what I’m going to do.
“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. 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.
“From the time I was six years old, I never took a break from boxing,” added Broner. “So that’s what I did. Now, I’m missing boxing again, I’m back in it and we’re back to it on Saturday night. Everything happens for a reason and I think this is going to be a great start.
“Like I said before, I didn’t want no easy out. I could have taken a pushover, but I’m not doing that. I love competition. I want somebody to test me, bring the best out of me, and that’s why I picked Jovanie Santiago. Saturday night is going to be a great fight.”
Main image: Amanda Westcott/Showtime.