By James P Sexton: What do Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquaio, Bernard Hopkins, Wladimir Klitschko, Sergio Martinez, Miguel Cotto and Carl Froch have in common?
They are all great champions. They are all have hall of fame credentials. However, the point I am making here is that none of them have more than a few more years, some a few more fights left in them.
It is a reality that sooner rather than later that the best fighters of this era will retire, and when they do, who will stand in to replace them as pound for pound and pay per view kings of the sport?
Below is a brief discussion of some of the biggest names making a storm in the boxing world.
1. Gennady Golovkin. I had to mention this man first for several reasons. Firstly he has already established himself as a great champion. In February he will have his fourteenth consecutive title fight against tough as nails middleweight; Martin Murray. This man has everything you could ask for in a prizefighter, an aggressive crowd-pleasing style capable of hurting seemingly anyone before him, a wealth of potential opponents, an undefeated and unblemished perfect record and boyish good looks to top it off. At 32 he is no spring chicken, but should have several more years of all actions fights before starting to slow down, and between now and then he is a perfect candidate to take over as a superstar of boxing.
2. Keith Thurman. Another undefeated big puncher. This time a welterweight prospect with the credentials to become a star. An American, widely regarded as one of the most avoided men in boxing is biding his time, winning fights whilst waiting for one of the champions to agree to face him. He has been interim WBA champion for some time now, but having Floyd Mayweather as the WBA champion means the wait could be forever for Thurman. As he hasn’t won a title outright before, or even beaten a truly elite fighter, he is viewed as too much of a high risk- low reward type opponent, and because of this he may be waiting a while before he can really show what he is made of against the top fighters in the world. However, at 26 he has time on his side and in the next decade this man could be one to watch.
3. Saul Alvarez. This Mexican fighter is already a star. Forty-four wins with his only loss to Floyd Mayweather. His many wins include more recent victories over dangerous challengers Austin Trout (who was coming in off of a win over Miguel Cotto) and Erislandy Lara (who was coming in off of a win over Austin Trout.) Over the next few years it is likely that he will be matched well and his stock will soar making many pay per view events possible, in other world another young talent ready to take the throne.
4. Danny Garcia. Currently undefeated with some big wins to his name and the lineal champ at 140. With many potential matchups in the near future this man could raise to the top of the pound for pound list and if the passionate Puerto Rican fans get behind him after some big wins he could become a PPV opponent if he stays an undefeated champion is matched right. To start with he will have to make his first choice of opponent in 2015 a good one to reverse some of the damage done to his reputation in 2014, but again a possible candidate to take over.
5. Kell Brook. An undefeated champion in the busiest division in the sport is someone you should always watch. There are only three champions at welterweight; Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and then there is Brook. 33-0-0 (22KOs) he has made a good start, but without many real elite fighters on his resume thus far, it might take some time before the fans from other countries start to see him like the star he is in the UK. Only time will tell on whether this man makes it as a force in boxing or becomes another forgotten champion.
6. Guillermo Rigondeaux. As a man with probably the most boxing talent on this list it is sad for me to say that he is less likely than anyone else really. His style isnt appealing to the majority of fans and already at 34 years of age due to his lengthy amateur career, it is unclear what kind of mark he can make in the next few years and what his legacy will be when he retires.
7. Terence Crawford. If this guy moves up he can likely establish himself as a two weight world champion. The American native has a good a chance as any young champion to move into the boxing spotlight in a post Mayweather era. He would need to follow on from his great 2014 campaign to build the buzz that surrounds the names like Golovkin, but with his talent, he can do it.
8. Peter Quillin/Adonis Stevenson. These guys have a similar problem in that they are viewed in the eyes of some fans as ‘duckers’ for opting out of career high paydays in 2014. There is only room for a few at the top and vacating titles and avoiding fighters isn’t going to put you in the kind of position to maximise your income and opinion with the fans. However both are truly talented fighters and could have big years in 2015 depending on their choice of opponents. Will they become PPV or P4P superstars at any point? unlikely compared to some of the names above, but it can definitely happen for them.
Along with these guys and others established names such as Andre Ward, Mikey Garcia, Nicholas Walters, Carl Frampton and Jessie Vargas, along with early stage prospects such as Anthony Joshua, Artur Beterbiev, Gilberto Ramirez, Billy Joe Saunders and Arthur Villanueva, who does the reader see holding the crown over the next decade?
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