Floyd Mayweather: Adrien Broner to defend title vs. Ashley Theopane in late January

Adrien Broner surprisingly called out Ashley Theopane following his last win, and now the fight appears to be coming to fruition.

Floyd Mayweather said, via The Guardian, that the fight will take place "at the end of January" in Atlanta on a "big show." Mayweather promotes Theopane, who will challenge Broner for his WBA junior welterweight title. A text message to Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe was not returned.

Broner (31-2, 23 KOs) won the vacant title with a unanimous decision victory over Khabib Allakhverdiev in October. The brash fighter had always referred to Floyd as his "big brother," but the two got into a spat after Mayweather said Broner "has a lot of growing up to do" in early November. An emotional Broner shot back at Mayweather in a video he posted on social media shortly after, but Mayweather said the rift is a thing of the past.

Mayweather seemed to take exception with Broner calling out Theopane in the ring and his subsequent remarks disparaging The Money Team. Broner was curiously picked to fight for the title following a clear and convincing loss to Shawn Porter in June.

"Adrien Broner has a lot to learn," Mayweather said this week on DJ Whoo Kid's show on Sirius XM's Shade 45 (via BoxingScene). "I was young once, but I didn't have a mentor like Floyd Mayweather to guide me in the right way. I had to learn the hard way. My thing is this, I want to help Adrien Broner grow and all these young fighters grow."

Theopane (39-6-1, 11 KOs) isn't on Broner's level. The 35-year-old Brit has lost to the likes of Darren Hamilton, Pablo Cesar Cano and has never defeated a fighter of note. But it appears Broner's affinity to impress Mayweather led him to the unusual practice of calling out a fighter of that caliber while champion.

PBC has a show on Jan. 23, so Jan. 30 is the most likely date.

(Photo: Stephanie Trapp, Showtime)