The pact between nascent boxing entrant BLK Prime and former four-division champion Adrien Broner is over.
Broner announced on his Instagram profile on Sunday that he and BLK Prime have decided to part ways, and that he’s currently a free agent.
The development puts an end to an uneven four-month run for Broner and BLK Prime highlighted by a canceled show that featured three Broner opponents falling out for a variety of reasons.
Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) was supposed to fight Michael Williams Jr. on Saturday to headline a pay-per-view show at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, but the fight was postponed after Williams suffered a fractured jaw during sparring.
In a Feb. 17 press release, BLK Prime announced that the Broner show would be postponed and a future opponent would be announced, but those plans would now have to be scrapped altogether.
Williams was the replacement opponent for Hank Lundy, who was forced to pull out of the Broner bout because he was dealing with a suspension from the California State Athletic Commission.
Lundy was a replacement opponent for Ivan Redkach, who was forced to withdraw from his announced fight with Broner because he was feuding with promoter Joe DeGuardia.
In October, it was announced that BLK Prime would stage three Broner fights over a 12-month span. The deal was slated to pay Broner eight figures over the life of the contract.
“Good afternoon, yall. It’s a great Sunday. I’m just going to come out and let everybody know. Me and BLK Prime have decided to part ways,” Broner said on social media Sunday.
“There is no bad blood. They just couldn’t deliver everything that I needed at this point of my career. Right now I am in tip-top shape. I got myself in shape. I dropped all of my vices. I’m not clubbing. I’m not drinking. I’m ready to fight, so hit me up man. Hit me up. AB is a free agent man. Let’s do this. Like I said, I am ready to fight today anybody. Anybody can get it. The can man is back.”
BoxingScene.com reached out to a BLK Prime spokesperson for comment but has not yet received a response as this story goes to publish.
BLK Prime made its official entry into boxing in December with a show headlined by Terence Crawford’s knockout win against David Avanesyan in Nebraska.
Broner last fought in Feb. 2021 and looked lackluster in a unanimous decision win against Jovanie Santiago. It marked his first fight since his Jan. 2019 unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao.
The 33-year-old Broner is 1-2-1 in his last four fights dating back to July 2017.
Prior to his pact with BLK Prime, Broner was tied with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions and predominantly fought on Showtime.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.