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After a 12th round stoppage win tonight over Khabib Allakhverdiev in his return to Showtime, Adrien Broner tried to give a "humble" and "mature" and "wiser" interview with Showtime's Jim Gray, even apologizing once for saying "the s-word," and frankly saying a lot of "the right things," like that he had trouble adjusting to fame and money a few years ago, and let himself slip in the ring.
After all that, though, he called out someone whose name he apparently didn't really know, someone in the Mayweather camp who Broner said Floyd thinks can beat AB. "I think his name is Ashley?" Broner said. That would be Ashley Theophane, a 35-year-old journeyman whose inclusion in #TheMoneyTeam has always been a little strange, leaving one to figure he's always down to be DD or pick up the pizza or something. Or he's a really good guy to have in the gym. Probably that, if we're being honest.
But Theophane is a journeyman fighter, a former British champion at 140, yes, but also 39-6-1 (11 KO) and past his prime. He's won six straight, sure, but against marginal opposition. In other words, while Khabib Allakhverdiev may not be an elite fighter, Theophane would in fact be a step back, and a fairly notable one at that.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe appeared to have a response immediately:
Lol
— Leonard Ellerbe (@LEllerbe) October 4, 2015
Broner (31-2, 23 KO) then slid back into "oh no he didn't!" statements, saying of Theophane, "I bet I bring the girl out of that boy like Bruce Jenner." It's like he couldn't wait to say something purposely controversial and dumb.
Basically I just can't handle this right now. Between this "top guy" calling out a journeyman, Michael Buffer declaring Humberto Soto a "legendary" fighter and "future Hall of Famer," and Kellerman and Jones insisting Vasyl Lomachenko is No. 1 P4P, it's been a rough night for my brain.