By Miles Peart: Boxing is always looking for the next big thing, the next superstar who can generate high levels of interested when inside or outside of the ring. Currently boxing has stars such as Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao who garner attention from not just the boxing world but also the sporting world and beyond.
However, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao won’t be around forever. There are many boxers who are being backed by their promoters and TV networks to become the next boxing superstar.
Here in the U.K. boxers such as Kell Brook, Carl Frampton and David Price are given alot of exposure as they are seen as potential superstars. Over the pond there are numerous young boxers given the tag as “The Next Big Thing”. But there has been one young boxer who has been given the most media coverage out of all young upcoming/established boxers, that man is the 23 year old Adrien Broner. Known for his charisma and talent, Adrien Broner has been seen to be groomed by HBO as the new boxing PPV star or as some people see Adrien Broner, as the new Floyd Mayweather Jr (mainly due to the philly shell/shouder roll defence, however did anyone see Floyd Mayweather Jr in 1996/1997 as the new James Toney with the shouder roll defence?).
Only Saul Canelo Alvarez can be argued to have more coverage than Adrien Broner. So far Adrien Broner has become the youngest American world champion in todays boxing, a KO victory against former US olympian Vicente Escobedo, KO victory over super featherweight contender Jason Litzau and a debatable twleve round decision over former world champion Ponce De Leon. However I personally see another young American boxer who I believe purely on talent should command the same attention as Adrien Broner, 24 year old Gary Russell Jr. An extremely fast southpaw at featherweight, with a decorated amateur boxing career. At sixteen Gary Russell Jr won both the U.S. Championships and the Golden Gloves and won bronze in the 2005 world championships at 17 years of age and later was named 2005 USA athlete of the year. As a pro Gary Russell Jr has won all of his 20 bouts with 12 KOs, but no recognisable name on his record, this may have contributed into why Gary Russell Jr hasn’t had the same attention and coverage as Adrien Broner. It could also be the fact Gary Russell hasn’t shown or have the charisma as Adrien Broner or a distinctive look that Saul Canelo Alvarez has. Right now the world of boxing is leaning towards Adrien Broner to be the PPV star in the near future, however could Gary Russell Jr talent and skill help him to burst on the boxing scene and become an attraction, his style over his last two fights suggest he can with a first round KO back on the Broner vs Rodriguez card and a third round stoppage in his last bout. Time will tell which one of these talented young boxers will rise to become the PPV star, hey they may even one day face it each other which would make for an exciting bout or could become another Bradley vs Alexander (hopefully not..hopefully). Who do you believe will become the better star?
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