Adrien Broner is not every fight fan’s cup of tea.
Broner has more controversies to his name than world titles and he continues to ruffle feathers in his 11th year as a professional boxer.
The former four-weight world champion will return to the ring on January 19 for a shot at Manny Pacquiao’s WBA welterweight title and he has wasted no time in trying to get under Pacquiao’s skin.
The pair have been on a promotional tour in recent days and some felt that Broner may have crossed a line at a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday as the Ohio native made a needless and tasteless joke at the expense of Pacquiao’s returning trainer, Freddie Roach.
‘Pac-Man’ has re-enlisted the help of the legendary Roach to prepare him for his next fight and when the subject was brought up at Tuesday’s event, Broner didn’t endear himself to anyone with his response.
“I’m happy you’re bringing Freddie back so we can get this thing shaking,” Broner said in a crude reference to the tremors Roach experiences due to Parkinson’s Disease.
Pacquiao sat stony-faced while Broner laughed and feigned innocence about the reaction of the gathered media.
Roach was as surprised as anyone to discover that he was back in Pacquiao’s plans but the Filipino legend insisted there was never any doubt that he wanted the Wild Card Gym owner in his corner.
Pacquiao said: “Freddie is always included in my team so we never lost Freddie. There has been some times when we needed to relax but now we need Freddie.”
