Floyd Mayweather: 'Adrien Broner is a true champion'

Floyd Mayweather has been a big supporter of Adrien Broner during his pro career, and following Broner's first loss as a professional this past Saturday against Marcos Maidana, Mayweather is standing behind the young fighter who identifies him as his "big brother."

"Adrien Broner is a true champion. I love him, I take my hat off to him because it's crazy how people are. When you're at the top, everybody wants to ride the wave and be by your side but as soon as you take a loss, everybody wants to talk bad about you. It comes with the territory when you sign up for this. When you're competing, someone has to win and someone has to lose. But I love Adrien Broner, I want him to keep his head up and I stand behind him."

Mayweather has said many times that Broner (27-1, 22 KO) needs to learn when to "turn it on" and "turn it off," and one can't help but wonder if Broner's pre-fight preparation just isn't what it should be if he wants to be as great as he has been pushed by the two major networks and Golden Boy Promotions. Whatever you want to say about Mayweather's personality or out of the ring antics (and worse), there's no disputing that Floyd stays in immaculate condition, which has not always been the case for Broner.