Adrien Broner reveals he split with PBC following pay disagreement

Premier Boxing Champions could no longer pay Adrien Broner an exorbitant amount of money unless he was willing to take on significant opposition.

And for Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), a four-division world champion from Cincinnati, that was a risk he was unwilling to take. As a result, the working relationship between PBC and Broner came to an apparently halt in October when the 33-year-old announced a three-fight, eight-figure deal (per Broner) with BLK Prime.

The streaming service made its debut earlier this month when it staged the 147-pound title fight between Terence Crawford and David Avanesyan, which ended with Crawford scoring a sixth-round knockout. Crawford, who holds the WBO welterweight title and has held world titles in three weight classes, claims he was paid $10 million for the Avanesyan fight.

Now it's Broner's turn to make some cash. He returns from a 24-month layoff on Feb. 25. in Atlanta, when he squares off against Ivan Redkach in a 147-pound main event on BLK Prime Pay-Per-View.

In a recent interview, Broner stated the money was too good to turn down.

“The type of contract that I got, man, they ain’t giving out nowadays in this sport of boxing,” Broner said of his new benefactor on The Porter Way Podcast. “These guys [other boxers] is taking these tough-ass fights, getting that small-ass money and they (BLK Prime] done gave me [lots of money]—man, I’m just blessed. I’m just blessed, and I’m thankful and I’m ready to put on a show.”

In other words, BLK Prime met Broner's demands and offered a bout which carried significantly less risk. PBC, on the other hand, was only willing to pay up if Broner stepped up against a world-class opponent.

Let's cut to the chase. The days of Broner fighting elite opponents and challenging for world titles are long over. He was originally supposed to fight in the summer on a Showtime main event against Omar Figueroa, but withdrew the week before the fight due to mental health issues.

“Just think, right, you get a guy—no disrespect to Al Or PBC and [Showtime Sports head Stephen] Espinoza and them,” Broner said. “But they, like, [said] ‘aight, the type of money you want, you gotta go in there and fight Godzilla. But we gon’ pay you. But you gotta go fight Godzilla.’ Then you got a guy (BLK Prime) [that said], like, ‘aight we’ll pay you triple that and you can pick whoever the f--- you want to fight.’

“What? What? That’s unheard of.”

Broner also revealed his trainer Kevin Cunningham was the one who advised him to not accept PBC's offer. That subsequently led to the deal with BLK Prime.

Broner said it was his coach, veteran trainer Kevin Cunningham, who advised him to not take PBC’s offer. Cunningham, Broner said, then connected him with BLK Prime.

“It was crazy, sh!t,” Broner said. “Well, well, I got a coach who’s just not a coach. You know Kevin Cunningham. He’s more than just a coach. Things was going on in boxing, in PBC, and all [that], so from the inside, you could see things going on and things was getting shady, and I was, like, now it’s time to go and find some different money. So, he made a call and in three days it happened.

"He was, like, man, because what they was trying to do—he’s not a coach that will just sit back and, alright, I’ll take this cuz I gotta take this. He was, like, ‘hell nah. You ain’t gotta take that. You’re still in a great spot in your career and they ain’t moving you right. So we gon’ do something that fit more for you.’ So that’s what we did. And BLK Prime came along.”

When pressed if he was concerned if BLK Prime could maintain his extravagant paydays over the long-term, Broner brushed the question aside.

“It ain’t my problem,” Broner said. “As long as I do my job everything gon’ be good.”