Stock Watch for Boxers Looking to Become the Sport's Biggest Star
With undefeated all-time great Floyd Mayweather officially retired, a spot is now open atop the boxing superstar mountain. While Mayweather was unequivocally the pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport as well, the most envious position he enjoyed during the final eight years of his career was status as the sport’s biggest star.
Being the face of boxing puts the “prize” in prizefighting. It’s allows a fighter to dictate terms during negotiations with opponents, fills his coffers with hordes of cash and sometimes even leads to ardor and appreciation from mainstream sports fans.
Here are the 10 fighters looking to take Mayweather’s place as boxing’s brightest star.
10. Danny Garcia: Stock Down
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Why Here’s Here: The 27-year-old from Philadelphia is one of the best fighters in boxing. He’s a counterpunching savant who hurls punches at his opponent’s with ruthless vigor. Undefeated in 31 professional fights,
Danny Garcia is a former lineal junior welterweight champion who is now plying his trade at 147. Between 2012 and 2013, Garcia had one of the most impressive runs in boxing, defeating Erik Morales (twice), Zab Judah and Lucas Matthysse to solidify his status as the best 140-pound fighter in the world.
Why His Stock Is Falling: Garcia’s last four fights have left much to be desired. He may have been outboxed by Mauricio Herrera in March 2014 but was awarded a majority decision. Instead of a deserved rematch, Garcia butchered former lightweight Rod Salka later that year in a mismatch that should have never been made.
This year hasn’t been any better. Garcia slipped past Lamont Peterson by majority decision and stopped an old Paulie Malignaggi at welterweight. None of Garcia’s wins have been exciting or noteworthy. He needs to step up to better competition and perform like the Garcia of a few years back if he hopes to become a real star.
9. Roman Gonzalez: Stock Up
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Why Here’s Here: Lineal flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez is probably the best fighter in the sport. He’s an exciting and dedicated pressure fighter who has fast hands and feet, strong fists and a multitude of skills. At age 28, he’s already won titles in three different weight classes and defeated a slew of notable names including Juan Francisco Estrada, Akira Yaegashi and Brian Viloria. Gonzalez is the most skilled pressure fighter in the sport today.
Why His Stock Is Rising: In a perfect world, a fighter like Gonzalez would be a shoe-in to replace Mayweather as the sport’s biggest star. But Gonzalez has one big disadvantage over every other fighter on this list: his size. It’s not fair and it’s not right, but boxing fans tend to care much more about fighters competing at 147 pounds and above, the heavier the better.
So while Gonzalez has the HBO hype machine behind him, a robust future opponent list and some of the best skills in the sport, it will be hard for him to ascend to the very top spot in boxing. However, he does still have room to grow. He’s still relatively unknown among casual fight fans and the more HBO exposes him to the masses, as it has done lately, the more he’ll garner deserved attention and recognition.
8. Sergey Kovalev: Stock Up
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Why Here’s Here: Unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev is a wrecking ball. He’s light on his feet but heavy with his hands, and there’s nobody who appears to love the job of hurting people more than the 32-year-old from Russia.
Kovalev is a devastating knockout puncher who already has a career-defining win on his resume, his 12-round domination of aging legend Bernard Hopkins. Moreover, Kovalev’s style is something naturally attractive to those who enjoy watching people fight: He’s ruthless and aggressive. In fact, he seems mean when he fights.
Why His Stock Is Rising: Despite not yet having faced lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson, Kovalev has become one of the more recognizable faces in boxing. Thanks to HBO, he will likely stay that way for a good long while. Kovalev is one of the best and most accomplished fighters in boxing. He’s an entertaining destroyer, and he has never tasted defeat. Kovalev’s stock will continue to rise until he runs into someone who can outfight him in the ring. That isn’t likely to happen for some time.
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7. Deontay Wilder: Stock Down
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Why Here’s Here: The WBC heavyweight titleholder, Deontay Wilder is America’s lone threat to Wladimir Klitschko’s long championship reign. He’s big, strong, tall and has only had to go the distance once in 35 bouts. Wilder’s best win was over Bermane Stiverne for the WBC belt. That bout featured how good Wilder could turn out to be. He used his long, accurate jab alongside sheer athleticism to stab his way to a unanimous-decision win over a top-level heavyweight.
Moreover, Wilder has one of the more boisterous and engaging personalities in all of boxing. He’s great in front of the camera and knows how to sell himself, something that can never be overlooked in the star-driven sport of boxing.
Why His Stock Is Falling: It’s easier for heavyweights to rise to the top of the sport, and Wilder’s stock was probably at an all-time high when he defeated Stiverne in January, but since then he’s faced two nondescript opponents who had accomplished nothing to warrant a shot at a piece of the heavyweight championship. And while Wilder won both fights via knockout, he struggled more in the wins than most observers thought he would. Has he already hit is peak? Or will Wilder become what his handlers hope? Whatever happens, it needs to happen against better fighters than he’s faced recently.
6. Manny Pacquiao: Stock Down
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Why Here’s Here: Manny Pacquiao vied with Mayweather for top billing in the sport over the last seven years, so it stands to reason that with Mayweather retiring, Pacquiao would become the No. 1 superstar in the sport by default. But Pacquiao appears to be at the tail-end of his career.
He’s coming off of shoulder surgery and admitted recently he’s close to the retiring. Regardless, Pacquiao is still the most recognizable fighter in the world. Should he continue to fight on past age 36, he will likely stay near the top of the sport.
Why His Stock Is Falling: Pacquiao’s stock took a hit against rival Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012 when he was knocked out in Round 6 of a slugfest. He rebounded with three straight wins, including a rematch victory over Timothy Bradley, but put up a lackluster effort against Mayweather earlier this year.
After the fight, he disclosed he went into the promotion almost every boxing fan in the world had clamored to see for what seems like forever with a shoulder injury. It required surgery after the fact, meaning the injury was legitimate enough to probably warrant a fight postponement. None of what happened in the Mayweather bout was good for Pacquiao.
5. Andre Ward: Stock Down
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Why Here’s Here: Lineal super middleweight champion Andre Ward is a superb fighter in just about every way. He’s an excellent boxer with good balance and precise footwork. He’s a menace up close and a hard puncher from distance. He’s solid defensively, a great tactician and he fights mean.
Moreover, Ward, the last American man to win a gold medal at the Olympics, has already defeated a slew of solid fighters during his career, including Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler. Ward just might be the best all-around fighter in boxing.
Why His Stock Is Falling: Ward has only fought three times in the last four years, and recently his competition has been subpar. He dominated Paul Smith in what was supposed to be a comeback fight earlier this year before trying to face another soft touch, Rohan Murdock, in his next fight.
Any time a fighter as elite as Ward gets has an opponent rejected by the governing athletic commission, as Ward did with Murdock, he’s going to suffer in the eyes of fight fans and media. Ward needs to get back to fighting good competition as fast as possible. He’s 31 years old and still in the prime of his career.
4. Keith Thurman: Stock Stagnant
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Why Here’s Here: Keith Thurman is an exciting and undefeated 26-year-old American welterweight with knockout power and top-notch boxing ability. Outside of the ring, he’s one of the more interesting and dynamic personalities in the sport. He has all the tools to become an elite-level star, including the backing of one of boxing’s biggest power brokers, Al Haymon.
Of all the fighters making their living on Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series, Thurman is the most ready right now to become one of the faces of the sport, and his appearances on network television are something that cannot be overlooked.
Why His Stock Is Stagnant: Thurman looks like he could be special, but it’s hard to tell how great he might be without seeing him against better competition. Here’s the thing: Thurman competes in a division with plenty of opportunities to face recognizable competition. The PBC has a slew of good welterweight contenders for Thurman to face, but so far the best fighter we’ve seen him against is Robert Guerrero.
Thurman can’t ascend any more until he starts getting the types of fights he deserves as one of the brightest young stars in the sport. A proposed showdown with Shawn Porter would be a good start, and anything less than equal to that fight or better will put his stock in decline.
3. Terence Crawford: Stock Up
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Why Here’s Here: Undefeated junior welterweight star Terence Crawford has just about everything going for him these days. The 28-year-old is an excellent fighter with quick reflexes, a penchant for great in-fight adjustments and long, lean arms with solid power.
He’s already been a lineal champion at lightweight and now holds an alphabet title at 140 pounds. He is promoted by Top Rank, the same team that helped mold boxing’s last two superstars, Mayweather and Pacquiao, into icons of the sport, and he’s fast becoming one of HBO’s marquee attractions.
Why His Stock Is Rising: Crawford appears to be getting better and better every time he fights. Three of his last four wins have come by knockout, and his move from lightweight to junior welterweight has opened up a slew of interesting opportunities. Crawford’s excellence has put him in good position to fight Pacquiao in the near future, and backup options versus the likes of Jessie Vargas, Jose Benavides and Lucas Matthysse would keep him in the public eye as well.
A bout against fellow Top Rank fighter Victor Postol would be as good as it gets at 140 pounds, and it isn’t hard not to envision Crawford moving up to welterweight within the next couple years, too. Three lineal divisional championships are not out the question for Crawford’s future. He’s that good.
2. Gennady Golovkin: Stock Up
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Why Here’s Here: There’s not another fighter in the sport as hot right now as unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. The 33-year-old from Kazakhstan is a relentless pressure fighter who has knocked out his last 21 opponents. He’s defended his WBA title 15 times in a row, and is seen by many as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
Golovkin is also an adept boxer, but he fights to knock his opponents out. Partly due to his excellent marketing team, Golovkin’s aura of invincibility is unrivaled in boxing today. He’s even appeared in an Apple commercial.
Why His Stock Is Rising: Golovkin is a great fighter, but he also competes in a way that is attractive to the highest amount of fight fans possible. He doesn’t jab and move. He seeks and destroys. His opponents look beyond hopeless when the bell rings, and the knockout streak only adds to his cache with fight fans.
However, there are some things that might go against Golovkin in the near future. He’s yet to face a star opponent, and he’s already close to his mid-30s. Golovkin needs big fights, and he needs them now. If he doesn’t get them, he risks losing his place among boxing’s top stars.
1. Canelo Alvarez: Stock Up
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Why Here’s Here: Canelo Alvarez already has a legion of fight fans. He’s a wonderful combination puncher, and he’s very accomplished for being just 25 years old. Alvarez has already won two titles at junior middleweight, and he appears to be on his way to doing the same at 160 pounds. He’s a star fighter already, and his willingness to face other top stars such as Miguel Cotto in November and Floyd Mayweather in 2013 shows moxie and determination absent from many prizefighters these days.
Alvarez is a work-in-progress. His close fights versus Austin Trout in 2013 and Erislandy Lara in 2014, as well as his clear decision loss to Mayweather, indicate he struggles against good boxers. But he’s also delivered sensational performances against big punchers James Kirkland and Alfredo Angulo.
Why His Stock Is Rising: If there’s one fighter who can truly replace Mayweather at the top of the sport, it’s Alvarez. The Mexican icon has tremendous crossover appeal, a compelling style and all the HBO hype-building support he’ll ever need to help him ascend to the top of the boxing mountain. Alvarez is the premier fighter in Oscar De La Hoya's stable at Golden Boy Promotions, and he has opportunities available to him most other fighters can only dream about. Now comes the hard part: making it all happen.
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