MARCUS BROWNE ITCHING TO HANDLE UNFINISHED BUSINESS AT CRUISERWEIGHT
Marcus Browne is starting over. When you're a 34-year-old professional boxer, that sentence should come with a warning label, but the Staten Island native isn't back in the business for the wrong reasons.
The father-of-three is a former Olympian, a former interim WBA light heavyweight champion, he’s been in some big fights, and his longtime association with PBC means that he made some decent money. And he's used that money well, opening a remodeling company (Kitchen & Flooring Gallery) doing good business in the tri-state area.
Browne (25-2, 16 KOs) does have that feeling of unfinished business, though.
"I'm ready to rock and roll. I want to fight," said Browne, who will make the walk for the first time in nearly two years when facing Olanrewaju Durodola (50-10, 44 KOs) at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, Canada on June 28.
Canada?
"I signed with New Era Sports and they're based out of Canada," he continued. "They have Jean Pascal as well, so I had to do what I got to do and, at this point, the Earth is my turf. So if I had to go to Germany or Pakistan, I would've went there to fight."
So, the Great White North it is. Is he working on his French?
"Oui oui," he responds, and truth be told, it doesn’t sound half bad coming from a New Yorker. But in all seriousness, with Pascal fighting for an interim WBC cruiserweight belt on the same card as Browne-Durodola, the stage is being set for a possible rematch of an entertaining August 2019 bout that saw Browne dropped twice by Pascal before losing a technical decision by a point on each of the judges' scorecards.
And interim or not, Browne wants a world title in his new weight class.
"That's exactly why I'm here," he said. "There's a couple guys that are killers at cruiserweight but to be honest, I feel like I'm one of the killers, and dudes don't want to fight me unless it's for something. So I'm working my way up to get a piece of the hardware so I could be able to have some kind of value."
Browne doesn't seem to have an issue with climbing the ladder again, and it's seemingly made him as hungry as he was when he was at light heavyweight and trading punches with the likes of Pascal, Badou Jack and Artur Beterbiev.
The Jack fight six years ago produced his biggest win to date, but a ninth-round stoppage defeat by Beterbiev in December 2021 stalled his career. He's only fought once since, outpointing Adrian Taylor in his cruiserweight debut, but another long layoff followed that August 2023 appearance.
"I really didn't need a break and didn't want one," Browne said. "It's just boxing and how things work out, especially if you don't have a promoter or anything. But I missed it. I miss being in the ring, in the gym and with my guys every single day, grinding it out, sparring, getting sharper and better, working on a game plan, all of this stuff.
"So I've been offered guys, said yes, and nothing came out of it. I just thought this was another one of those things, but it actually came to fruition, so I'm happy about that."
And after a short stint training in Texas with Derrick James, the member of the 2012 United States Olympic team is back in Staten Island with Gary Stark Sr. and Sherif Younan.
"Old school, man," he said, before revealing the real reason for his comeback.
"Boxing is my first love."
Sometimes, it's hard to give up that first love, and that's precisely where Browne is at. And while such comebacks are usually a recipe for disaster, in this case, he's young enough to still compete at a high level, in a division that isn't as deep as others, and there's a path towards big fights for him. He's also got 25 pounds he didn't have before to play with now as a cruiserweight, so he can eat some of his mom's homecooking.
"Tell me about it," he laughs. "I was a little malnourished at light heavyweight. But I actually feel a hundred percent strong and don’t feel like I'm battling the weight and all the cons of having to deplete yourself making the weight. Not that I'm eating whatever I want to eat because, at the end of the day, I'm still on a strict diet, but it just feels better overall. I feel stronger, too."
How strong? Superman strong. He hasn't felt that way in a while. But he does now.
"I felt like Superman lost his powers," Browne said of his time away from the sport. “It's a one-of-a-kind feeling, like you have superpowers and you're on top of the world. I miss being that guy and my kids looking at me like I'm an average dude. I've never been average.”
