Adrien Broner has revealed his unlikely friendship with Cristiano Ronaldo - whilst jokingly calling him out for a boxing fight.
Broner, 33, will fight for the first time in over two years when he faces short-notice replacement Hank Lundy in Atlanta after Ivan Redkach's withdrawal. A former four-time world champion, Broner's career has been plagued by inactivity in recent years as the boxer has battled mental health struggles during his time away from the ring.
The boxing scene has changed a lot since Broner's absence, with influencers and content creators introducing a new audience to the sport. Broner has praised the likes of Jake Paul and KSI for testing themselves in the ring and jokingly called for a fight with one of the world's best football players in Ronaldo, whom he says is a good friend of is.
"One day we just started writing to each other on Instagram," Broner told Mirror Fighting of his friendship with Ronaldo. "If I can fight Cristiano Ronaldo I would, that's a nice friend of mine so shout out to him and everything that he's got going on. I just want to congratulate him, he's doing some great things for soccer and he's just a great athlete."
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'AB' followed the footsteps of welterweight world champion Terence Crawford by signing a deal with newly-founded promotion BLK Prime. The three-fight agreement is reportedly worth over $10million, as Broner is scheduled to compete three times in the upcoming 12 months.
Broner has battled alcohol addiction in recent years and admitted he used to drink every day, with the former world champion eventually being mandated into an alcohol treatment program. The 33-year-old is in a much better place heading into his fight against Lundy and credited boxing for saving him from a dark place.
"I say this thing, work or die, I've been saying it a lot recently. Sometimes you've just got to look in the mirror and say f*** it. Don't think about nothing else just go to work, no matter how your body feels or what emotions you're feeling that day. Just say f*** it and go to work," Broner added.
"I'm in a good place, I look myself in the mirror and tell myself 'let's get at it' so that's what I've been on. Once you get into the routine and your body gets used to working out intensely everyday, I've been doing this since I was six years old. This is definitely the second half of my career and I'm going to make sure we do it right."
