Adrien Broner has pulled out of his upcoming junior welterweight fight vs. Omar Figueroa Jr. to focus on his mental health.
The former champions were scheduled Saturday night from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. However, the fight has now been scrapped, with Broner announcing via Instagram Monday morning that he will withdraw due to mental health issues. Figueroa will now face off against Sergey Lipinets around 11:30 p.m. ET.
“Sorry to all my fans but mental health is real and I’m not about to play inside the ring,” Broner wrote. “I’ve watched a lot of people die playing with their boxing career and that is something I won’t do, just pray for me. I love the sport of boxing too much to not give my all and I feel Like I came up short before because my mind wasn’t 100% there and I’ll be damned if I make that mistake again. I need to make some changes for the better instead of worrying about other people’s feelings and pleasing them when in all reality I have nothing to prove to nobody.”
It doesn’t look like Broner will receive any sympathy from Figueroa Jr., who issued a scathing response in which he accused Adrien of using mental health as a “[fucking] excuse.”
“As we all know, my fight against that MF Broner is off,” Figueroa wrote on Instagram. “Now I don’t mind because this is something we expected so we had plans in motion to mitigate most of the aftermath. What really pisses me off is that now this MF wants to use mental health as a FKN excuse. That I have a problem with because that’s BS. You don’t get to cry mental health now, MF! Not saying you don’t suffer from mental health issues, we can all tell you do, just don’t use it as an excuse now after you’ve been undisciplined and not taking this fight [and] training camp seriously.”
Figueroa went on to demand that Broner prove he did in fact seek “professional help.”
“If it really is mental health, please show us the proof you went and sought professional help. You love to post all your shit on social media, why not let us in on your mental health recovery? You don’t get to undermine mine and countless other journeys and struggles with mental health because of your undisciplined and childish dumb ass! Fuck you Broner! Just when I thought you couldn’t stoop any lower.”
Read Figueroa’s full response below.
