Adrien Broner has competed over 40 times in his professional career, but the power of one player clearly stands out in his mind.

Broner was widely considered one of the sport’s stars, having become a three-weight world champion at the age of just 23, and a four-weight world champion at the age of 26, with Oscar De La Hoya being the only man to achieve the latter feat at an earlier age.

At one point, Broner had an undefeated record of 27–0, but the criticism he faced throughout his career was a lack of commitment and discipline, as well as several defeats, meaning the record currently stands at 35 wins from 42 fights.

The first of these losses came to Marcos Maidana in December 2013, when Broner lost his WBA welterweight title in a unanimous decision defeat.

Broner was a huge favorite before the fight, but was dropped twice during the fight, and more than a decade into the fight continues to have a lasting impact on the American. revealing himself in a live broadcast that he was hit so tough that “his whole body went numb.”

Maidana held the WBA Regular super-lightweight title along with the WBA welterweight belt, and his strength was evident throughout his career, with 31 victories coming by knockout.

His victory over Broner became eminent for his two fights with Floyd Mayweather, the first of which ended in a majority decision loss for the Argentine before Mayweather won a unanimous decision in the rematch.

This second meeting turned out to be the last moment in which Maidana took part in the action, he leaves with a final record of 35 wins and 5 losses.

Mike Tyson has joined the growing chorus calling for Oleksandr Usyk to fight Agit Kabayel again, amid continued uncertainty over the heavyweight champion’s future plans.

Appearing in a video posted to Kabayel’s Instagram account from the Berlin meeting, Tyson made his position clear.

“Come Usyk, come for us, baby. We need that money, baby, come for us,” said the former undisputed heavyweight champion.

The news came as Kabayel once again tried to get Usyk’s attention after years of working towards an opportunity he felt he already deserved.

Kabayel is getting more and more impatient

The undefeated German has been establishing himself as a must-see over the years and was officially confirmed by the WBC as Usyk’s next challenger following the champion’s controversial victory over Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has already stated that the fight should take place before the end of the year.

“Agit is the WBC interim champion and mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk,” Sulaiman said. “He deserved his stripes.”

Despite this position, the situation is still not uncomplicated.

Usyk still has a huge advantage as the heavyweight division’s biggest dynamic attraction and could, however, opt for a more lucrative rematch with Verhoeven.

The Germans are waiting

Klitschko’s former manager Bernd Boente recently told WBN that the Usyk vs. Kabayel will be the main event in Germany.

Boente believes the country’s enormous Ukrainian population would aid create a stadium atmosphere not seen in German boxing since Klitschko’s days.

Usyk’s fight with Kabayel would live up to all expectations. The German gets the chance he deserves, Usyk fulfills his mandatory duty, and Germany becomes one of the biggest heavyweight events in years.

Whether this will happen is a completely different matter.

Master without a punch?

If Usyk chooses Rico Verhoeven’s bigger payday instead, Kabayel could become heavyweight champion without pulling any punches.

The irony is that the opportunity he has been chasing for years may come through paperwork rather than victory in the ring.

This result would immediately create another problem. The German heavyweight champion is a valuable commodity, but filling a football stadium in the first defense requires the right opponent.

Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder remains one of the few names available who could turn his title defense into a major event in Germany if the Usyk fight falls through.

Wilder is ranked seventh in the WBC rankings as of June 2026.

For now, however, Kabayel is focusing on the champion himself.

The WBC has already confirmed he is the mandatory challenger to Usyk, Boente believes the fight should take place at a German stadium, and Mike Tyson has publicly joined the campaign.

The final decision now rests with Usyk, even though Iron Mike publicly supported Kabayel’s call.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

“My answer is to talk to Robert Garcia and Bam, you know, it’s one fight at 118 pounds,” Hearn told DAZN Boxing after Rodriguez stopped Vargas in six rounds to win the WBA bantamweight title. “We also have Chispa Medina. This is a great unification fight that must be fought between the two of them.”

The comments show a different perspective on the debate that has been raging around Bam Rodriguez since his last victory. A lot of attention was focused on the Naoya Inoue fight, especially after trainer Robert Garcia indicated that he would prefer Bam have one more fight before moving on to fight the undisputed super bantamweight champion.

If Garcia remains committed to keeping Rodriguez at bantamweight for his next fight, Medina (27-4, 19 KO) would be a logical option. Instead of competing in a non-title fight, Rodriguez would have the opportunity to unify the WBA and WBO championships in just his second appearance at 118 pounds.

Rodriguez (25-0, 18 KO) moved up from super flyweight to dethrone Antonio Vargas by sixth-round knockout in Glendale, Arizona, becoming a three-division world champion at the age of 26.

Hearn later reminded fans that the main goal remains a future fight with Inoue.

“The deal has to be right. The offer has to be right,” Hearn said. “I know Bam will do it, without a doubt. Robert will do it too. But we have a long-term future in this sport. Belts up for grabs at 118 pounds.”

Hearn’s comments changed the discussion about Rodriguez’s next move. Rather than speculate on Inoue’s future showdown, promoter Matchroom considered WBO champion Christian “Chispa” Medina as a realistic option for Bam’s next fight.