"It Just shows, like I said before, there are good fighters, great fighters and elite fighters. I see myself as an elite fighter. Thats what happens when you put a good/great fighter in there with an elite fighter, man. It just don't last long...I'll have to explore them guys too. They're good, they're both undefeated and they both do what they do to pursue the best for their careers, but they havn't fought me yet, so until they fight me, that's when I will give them some real respect. I respect what they do as boxers because they are boxers, and I know what it takes to stay undefeated as well as all the hard work that we put in, but at the end of the day, I know them guys won't beat me," stated newly-crowned WBO jr. lightweight champion Adrien Broner, who talked about his impressive title-winning performance this past weekend, his future plans, including a clash with Bradon Rios or Yuriorkis Gamboa, and much more. Check it out!
JR: First of all Champ, congrats on another great performance. Just catching up with you after the dominating performance.
AB: Definitely. Well, you know, it's been a long journey since I turned pro. I know a lot of people never thought that I would get to this point where I am today, but I used the haters as motivation and kept doing me, man, and I am a world champion now. Speaking of the fight, Vicente Rodriguez came to fight. He gave me the opportunity for my first title shot, you know? It wasn't as easy as it seemed to be. He was a strong guy, but I stayed focused and did what I had to do, you know? I caught him with a good shot, but, you know, my talent and my skills got me over the hump, and now the sky is the limit from here.
JR: You dominated like you said you would. Take me through the rounds if you can.
AB: Well, in the first round, I came out jabbing and boxing; just trying to see what I had in front of me. I got to see that eventually he was a one-dimensional fighter. He was gonna do the same thing every time off the feint, you know? He would try to throw wild hooks and that's it. He didn't have a good jab. He didn't move his head as much. He was just a straight, rugged fighter, so the plan was to box him out and catch him off his mistakes. Going into the second round, he played right into the plan, you know? I made my adjustment and I wasn't gonna move anymore because there was no point in me moving anymore. He was a lot slower than I was, so I just picked off the block and used my counter punch. As the fight went on, he was getting wilder and wilder and I knew that I would eventually catch him up the middle. Going into the third round, he started getting frustrated that he couldn't hit me. I was really on point with my defense and then he opened up and I caught him with that vicious uppercut that ended it all. I finished in spectacular fashion.
JR: You looked calm, but very poised to make a statement. What was the game plan going into the fight?
AB: Basically just to work off the jab. but, as you can see, I did that and stayed calm. I was gonna take him into deep waters and drown him because a lot of people havnt seen me fight a lot of rounds, you know? I was gonna take him to deep waters and see if he can swim backwards (laughing).
JR: It's not your fault you knocked him out early. I understand you was trying to get some rounds in, but as good as Rodriguez is, he couldn't handle you.
AB: Definitely. It Just shows, like I said before, there are good fighters, great fighters and elite fighters. I see myself as an elite fighter. Thats what happens when you put a good/great fighter in there with an elite fighter, man. It just don't last long.
JR: You're world champion at 22 years old. What kind of experience has it been so far?
AB: It really hasn't set in yet. It's a great feeling, you know? This is not something where anybody can just wake up and be world champion. Millions have tried, thousands have got close, but only hundreds have really became world champion. Just to be part of that is crazy, you know? Im just not feeding on the hype because I know that I still have so much to do in the boxing game. This is just the beginning.
JR: I definitely understand that. You're still young and a lot more opportunities will definitely come, but a lot of people have been throwing your name out there with Yuriorkis Gamboa or Brandon Rios. What comes to mind when you're mentioned with those fighters?
AB: Man, I really don't care for that, you know? If it happens, then I'll have to explore them guys too. They're good, they're both undefeated and they both do what they do to pursue the best for their careers, but they havn't fought me yet, so until they fight me, that's when I will give them some real respect. I respect what they do as boxers because they are boxers, and I know what it takes to stay undefeated as well as all the hard work that we put in, but at the end of the day, I know them guys won't beat me.
JR: Speak on that confidence because a lot of people are intrigued by you.
AB: You know what? It kinda rubs off on people as me being cocky and arrogant, but I'm just very confident, you know? I know what I have. I know what god has blessed me with. I talk, but I can also back it up as you can see. So, I really don't care about the critics. I'm dgonna be me regardless if they love me or hate me. I have a lot of people who hate me and a lot of people that love me, so it really doesn't matter to me.
JR: Going back to Saturday night, it's gotta feel good when you got Floyd Mayweather, Tyga , and Andre Berto coming out to your fight.
AB: Oh yeah, you know? Floyd is a big idol of mine and I just want to thank him, Tyga, and Andre Berto for coming out to support. Those are cool guys right there. Thats the thing, man, they weren't coming to see a regular fighter. That fight was not in Vegas, but it was in my hometown. They took out some of there time Thanksgiving weekend to show me support. I'm very thankful for that.
JR: Well, congrats again. Any last thoughts champ?
AB: Yeah, man. I did this for the fans, man. I love there support and I love putting on great performances. Follow me on Twitter at @AdrienBroner and you guys will see a lot more from ʻThe Problemʼ. This is just the beginning, man. Put some sunglasses on 'cause I'm about to shine. To the critics, just keep doing your job. They're the reason I run six miles, and train so hard man, so do your job and I'ma do mine.