Assessing the Leading Candidates to Be Britain's Next Boxing Superstar
It has been a tough couple of weeks for British boxing.
After Kell Brook fell short in his ambitious bid to dethrone middleweight king Gennady Golovkin on September 10, Saul Alvarez ended Liam Smith's reign as WBO super welterweight champion on Saturday.
The results were a reminder that while Britain has a plethora of world champions, there isn't a worldwide superstar among them at this present time.
While GGG and Alvarez may not top every pound-for-pound list—The Ring magazine has them ranked three and eight, respectively—a bout between the pair is the biggest out there (provided Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn't return in the near future).
It has been a few years since British boxing has had a name involved in such a bout.
Ricky Hatton achieved it twice, as his army of fans travelled to Las Vegas twice to see him face Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. He lost on both occasions.
Carl Froch retired a world champion, yet his career highlight occurred against fellow Englishman George Groves in London. Like Hatton, he lost in his shot at the best in his division, going down to Andre Ward.
Heavyweight Lennox Lewis won plenty of big fights on American soil during his illustrious career but never quite won over the British public.
So, could any of the current Brits be as big as Canelo or GGG?
Bleacher Report analyses four leading candidates—as well as offering up a few alternative names—who could become global icons.
James DeGale
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Super middleweight James DeGale doesn't lack for confidence.
The holder of the IBF title, the Londoner has built a 23-1 (14 KOs) record that includes wins over former world champions Andre Dirrell and Lucian Bute.
A unification bout against WBC champion Badou Jack is on the cards, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com.
However, the southpaw nicknamed Chunky isn't overly interested in picking up belts. As he explained to Declan Taylor of MailOnline last year, it's all about the money.
To that extent, signing up with Premier Boxing Champions has helped the bank balance.
His last three bouts have all taken place in North America, giving him a chance to impress in front of a new audience.
However, DeGale's determination to look good sometimes works against him. Rather than dazzle with his fast hands and excellent footwork, he occasionally gets tempted into standing and trading.
The 30-year-old did just that against both Bute last November and Rogelio Medina earlier this year. Forget the bravado, James. Just focus on showing off your boxing skills.
What he needs to do
Beating Jack would be a good start. Yet for DeGale to take the leap to superstardom, he needs to knock off a seriously big name.
There isn't an obvious opponent to achieve that in his current division, so the Arsenal fan is going to have to look further afield.
That either means move up to face the winner of Sergey Kovalev and Ward—who meet on November 19—or hope Golovkin can be tempted to leave his comfort zone at 160 pounds and move up.
Carl Frampton
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Carl Frampton has two key ingredients for superstardom: boxing talent and a big fanbase.
The Northern Irishman became a two-weight world champion in July, dethroning Leo Santa Cruz on points to claim the WBA super featherweight crown in Brooklyn, New York.
Plenty of Frampton's compatriots were inside the Barclays Center cheering their man on, while a huge crowd turned up at City Hall to welcome their hero home back to Belfast.
The Jackal (23-0, 14 KOs) previously reigned at super bantamweight before stepping up to 126 pounds.
He defeated rival Scott Quigg in February, adding the WBA title to the IBF belt he already held in what was a disappointing battle of Britain in Manchester, England.
However, when in full flow, Frampton is an excellent fighter to watch. Building off a probing jab, he picks apart opponents by attacking both body and head.
His 61 per cent KO ratio is impressive, while the 29-year-old showed great determination, not to mention powers of recovery, to climb off the canvas twice to defeat Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. in 2015.
What he needs to do
In the immediate future, Frampton looks set to face Santa Cruz again.
The Mexican has an instant chance at revenge thanks to a contractual clause, although anyone who watched their first fight shouldn't complain about seeing it all over again.
There are other names at feather who should appeal to Frampton and his promoter, Barry McGuigan. Welshman Lee Selby is the IBF champion, while Gary Russell Jr. holds the WBC strap.
Tyson Fury
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Love him or loathe him (and there are plenty in both categories), Tyson Fury creates interest in boxing.
The heavyweight caused a major upset last year, ending Wladimir Klitschko's reign of dominance in the division with a points triumph over the Ukrainian in Germany.
The Englishman travelled home with the IBF, WBA and WBO titles, although he was quickly stripped by the IBF.
Klitschko has made use of a rematch clause, but the second fight has yet to happen. A date has been set for October 29, but don't count your chickens just yet.
Fury failed to make it to a press conference in London to officially announce the bout, with his absence due to heavy traffic and car trouble, apparently.
That's the thing with the enigmatic Tyson—you never quite know what you're going to get from him.
His antics outside the ring have overshadowed his talent in it. The 28-year-old makes use of his 6'9" frame, poking out a jab to set up power shots. He befuddled Klitschko with clever head movement, too.
What he needs to do
Fury needs to be busier. The Klitschko saga has dragged on for long enough, so fingers crossed they do actually make it to the ring in October.
He hinted in the past on Twitter that the rematch could be his last outing as a pro, although Peter Fury, his uncle and trainer, told Sky Sports that is not likely to be the case.
Fury and WBC champion Deontay Wilder have already had words, yet the bigger bout would be a unification showdown with Anthony Joshua, who holds the IBF belt that was stripped from his compatriot.
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Anthony Joshua
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Anthony Joshua is 26, has won all 17 of his pro bouts inside the distance and already holds the IBF heavyweight title.
A smiling giant, Joshua is a promoter's dream. Boxing fans have fallen in love with him—300 turned out to join him for a training run in Hampstead Heath on Friday, according to David Hughes of Metro.
A gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, Joshua was tipped to have a bright career as soon as he entered the paid ranks.
Few, though, could have expected it to go this well so quickly.
However, it is easy to forget he's still a work in progress. Joshua may hold a major title already, but Charles Martin was easy prey to pick off.
There is still a question over his ability to take a punch—his chin isn't necessarily suspect, it just needs to be tested—but he can only keep beating who is put in front of him.
Dedicated to his career and destructive once the first bell sounds, Joshua has the world at his feet.
The potential is there to be a wonderful combination of Lennox Lewis' boxing skills combined with Frank Bruno's popularity with the masses.
What he needs to do
Joshua requires tougher tests. Former opponents Dillian Whyte and Dominic Breazeale both managed to last until Round 7, but we've yet to see how he copes when taken into deep waters.
Still, his early exploits have not gone unnoticed across the Atlantic Ocean. The demolition job on Martin led to a multi-fight deal with American broadcasters Showtime.
Joshua would be guaranteed superstar status if he were able to clean up all the belts in the division.
Other Potential Candidates
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What about the best of the rest in Britain?
Kell Brook impressed in defeat to Gennady Golovkin. The Special One couldn't record a special result in London, but it was asking an awful lot to step up two divisions and beat a fighter of GGG's level.
While he's still the IBF welterweight champion, Brook's future could be at 154 pounds.
Although recovering from a broken eye socket, he's already made clear his willingness to take on Saul Alvarez. He told Sky Sports News HQ: "I'd love that fight with Canelo. I just want to be in those big fights. I had a taste with the Golovkin fight, and the attention around it is exciting for a fighter to be in."
Liam Smith, who lost to Canelo, can rise again, although super middleweight Callum Smith—the youngest of the four fighting siblings—has the type of power that could make him the star turn in the family.
Lee Selby and Terry Flanagan are talented world champions at feather and lightweight, respectively. Both, though, need to raise their profiles by claiming a notable scalp or two.
WBA lightweight Anthony Crolla has the chance to do just that when he takes on Jorge Linares on Saturday.
Million Dollar Crolla has reached the top despite setbacks in and out of the ring. He suffered a fractured skull and broken ankle when trying to foil a burglary, making his recovery a real feelgood story.
Chris Eubank Jr. may believe he's a superstar already, but that isn't the case, and Amir Khan's reputation took a hit when he suffered a heavy knockout defeat against Canelo.
Do you believe British boxing has a superstar in the making? Have your say via the comments section.
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