We see the worlds of hip-hop and sports collide on a regular basis these days and in few places do the two world’s intersect more frequently than in the boxing ring.
SPOILER ALERT!
On Saturday night, undefeated Cincinnati, OH native Adrien “The Problem” Broner won the WBC Lightweight Championship after dispatching of Antonio DeMarco in Atlantic City, NJ. Broner, whose fast hands and “shoulder roll” defensive technique have drawn many comparisons to Floyd “Money” Mayweather, dispatched of DeMarco via TKO in the eighth round.
Broner’s over-the-top charisma is a bit off-putting, even for someone like me, who is a long time Mayweather and Roy Jones fan (check out this stunt he pulled after a victory back in July). The whole Broner act seems so incredibly forced (even for a prizefighter), but the 23-year-old did do a few cool things last night besides completely outclassing his opponent.
Broner was decked out entirely in pink, which (according to HBO commentators) was a nod to breast cancer awareness, despite the fact that Breast Cancer Awareness month was last month. He also wore a pink robe to the ring with the image of Emanuel Steward on the back, the legendary boxing trainer and HBO Sports commentator, who suddenly passed away three weeks ago. Lastly, for his ring entrance, Broner brought out Kendrick Lamar and he danced (poorly) to the ring as Kendrick performed “Backseat Freestyle” off of his good kid, m.A.A.d. city album.
Sidebar: You now can also hear this song at the beginning of the Arena of the Mind Sports Talk internet video show. Check it out.
Like Kendrick, we look forward to seeing more of Adrien Broner (25-0, 21 KOs) in the future. Say what you will about the excess bravado; inside the ring, the kid is a “Problem”.