To say Adrien Broner's career has had its ups and downs would be an understatement. Now, just days before his planned bout with Omar Figueroa on Showtime Championship Boxing, Broner has announced he is pulling out of their junior welterweight fight because of mental health issues.
"Sorry to all my fans but #MentalHealth is real and I'm not about to play inside the ring," Broner wrote in a message posted on his Instagram. "I've watched a lot of people die playing with they boxing career and that is something I won't do."
Showtime later confirmed the news and announced that former IBF junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets will take on Figueroa in the main event. Lipinets was originally scheduled to face Carlos Manuel Portillo on the undercard.
"This is going to be a great fight against Lipinets and I hope he's ready for what I'm bringing," Figueroa said in a statement. "I've made changes in my life and I'm excited to see the kind of fighter that I am now. I'm going to show what I can do now that I have a clear head and a clear path ahead of me. With the opponent change I'm even more ready to take all the frustrations and anger that have built up in camp and bring it into the ring on Saturday and come out victorious."
Broner, who has held world titles in four weight classes, returned to the ring in February 2021 when he defeated Jovanie Santiago by unanimous decision in a fight where the scorecards did not reflect the close nature of the fight. The bout with Santiago was Broner's first since losing to Manny Pacquiao in January 2019.
Once touted as one of the building blocks of boxing's future, Broner's career fell apart amid multiple legal issues and a decline in his in-ring performance. After starting his career 27-0, Broner has gone just 7-4-1 since December 2013.
