Boxers Who Are Next in Line to Headline Their 1st Pay-Per-View Card
Currently in boxing, two fighters are guaranteed to fight on pay-per-view no matter what: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
Both Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez are also often on PPV, but they're more reliant on having quality opponents than the other two.
Fair or not, more than just being a highly skilled champion is required to reach PPV star status. If only elite boxing skill was required, then Andre Ward, Mikey Garcia and Guillermo Rigondeaux would be on the same level as Mayweather and Pacquiao.
However, all three of those fighters are widely considered to have boring styles by many boxing fans, so not enough people are willing to pay to watch them fight to make putting them on PPV financially feasible.
A PPV star has to not only be a very skilled boxer but has to fight an entertaining style and have a personality that drives fans to either root for or against him with enough intensity to shell out over $50 to see his match.
A boxer who possesses all of those attributes is very rare.
Danny Garcia
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Honestly, not much prevents Danny Garcia from becoming a pay-per-view headliner. The biggest obstacle in his way recently has been the opponents chosen for him by his adviser Al Haymon. Garcia is talented and entertaining, but no one is going to pay to see him face Mauricio Herrera or Rod Salka.
Garcia has already been a part of a major fight on a big PPV card against Lucas Matthysse, but he obviously wasn't the headliner on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Alvarez card.
That fight against Matthysse would have probably been on regular Showtime otherwise, but I would have paid to watch that fight at the time it happened.
If he chooses to make them, a ton of potential matches are available to Garcia that are worthy of PPV. If Garcia were to fight Adrien Broner or Marcos Maidana in particular, I wouldn't be surprised to see that bout on PPV.
Moving up to 147 pounds as has been discussed wouldn't hurt his earning potential and could land him a fight with PPV king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
With Alvarez back on HBO, if Mayweather does retire as he said he would after his next two fights when his contract with Showtime is up, then Garcia and Broner are definitely the next in line as Showtime's most possible PPV options.
Adrien Broner
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As I mentioned earlier, arguably more important than possessing elite skill in terms of becoming a PPV star is having a polarizing personality that will elicit feelings of love or hate from the fans. Being in between doesn't drive fans to their televisions.
Like his mentor or idol Floyd Mayweather Jr., Adrien Broner has a large base of boxing fans who like him, but more important is an even larger base of fans who dislike him and want to see him lose.
As odd as it sounds, there's no doubt that people who dislike an athlete or media personality will go out of their way to see him fall. That's why most talk show hosts try to be controversial; it sells more than being a beloved figure.
The only thing Broner needs to reach PPV status by the time Mayweather retires is a few signature wins to prove he's more than just flashy style and a cocky attitude. Better opponents and a more offensive style of fighting also wouldn't hurt.
Don't forget that his fight last year with Marcos Maidana was initially supposed to be a PPV, so Broner is very close to reaching that elite level.
Gennady Golovkin
3 of 5
Gennady Golovkin nearly secured his first PPV match earlier this year when he signed and agreed to move up in weight to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at 168 pounds. As you all know by now, Chavez got cold feet over a contract dispute with Top Rank, so the fight never happened.
Golovkin is already a big enough draw to headline shows on premium networks on both coasts, so I don't think he's far away from getting a PPV fight. The only thing missing for Golovkin is another big name as his opponent.
If he's able to secure a fight with Chavez, Carl Froch, Andre Ward, Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez, he'll be on PPV. Obviously with those last two he wouldn't be the "A-side," but he would still be on PPV.
Golovkin has everything you need to become a star at that level: a very fan-friendly style, a great knockout percentage and an engaging personality that makes him easy to root for and support.
I'd be willing to bet that GGG will have a PPV card in 2015.
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Terence Crawford
4 of 5
Terence Crawford is right on the verge of reaching pay-per-view status as one of Top Rank and HBO's top young fighters.
The biggest step Crawford will need to take to reach that next level will be a move up in weight to 140 pounds and eventually to welterweight at 147 pounds. I have some interest in seeing Crawford fight former lightweight champ Juan Diaz, but more interesting fights await him in the higher weight divisions.
Depending on how quickly Crawford moves up, fights with Juan Manuel Marquez or Manny Pacquiao would both be PPV-worthy. A potential match with Timothy Bradley—which of course has a longer window to be made since he's younger—would also be worthy of being PPV.
Crawford has all the talent and natural ability to make exciting fights for a PPV audience; besides his current weight class he fights, the other thing holding him back is his ability to sell a fight on the microphone.
I'm not sure if Crawford is just nervous in front of the microphone or just needs more experience behind the mic, but at this point his interviews have been bland. To reach PPV star status, he'll have to open up with his personality more and explore a different side of himself to help promote a big fight.
Sergey Kovalev
5 of 5
Much like Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev has many of the tools required to become a PPV-caliber fighter. He knocks out his opponents at a high rate and has an interesting personality that should draw in fans when they see him on shows like 24/7 on HBO.
I was actually a little surprised that his fight against fellow light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins won't be on PPV; I would have paid to see the match.
With another HBO PPV so close—Manny Pacquiao vs. Chris Algieri—to the dates they considered for the fight, it makes sense why it's not, but it's a better matchup than several other fights that were put on PPV this year.
Kovalev has been able to pull in over a million viewers on HBO with terrible matchups. With a win over Hopkins and another great fight against an opponent like Adonis Stevenson or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. possibly next, he could have a fight next year end up on PPV.
He's not the most likely of the fighters on this list to end up on PPV soon, but he already has an entertaining style and comes across as easy to root for. A victory over Hopkins could give him the name recognition boost he needs to reach the next level.
Follow me on Twitter for more boxing analysis and round by round scoring of major fights: @sackedbybmac
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