It cannot be denied that Mayweather and Pacquiao were instrumental in keeping boxing alive after the sudden surge of fans’ interest in mix martial arts (MMA) which for a short while had threatened the survival of boxing.
After his farewell fight on April 9, Pacquiao will be joining Mayweather in a “retirement home” and for sure they will be missed by their adoring fans.
Soon, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and returning Antonio Margarito will fade away in about a year or two at most and the rest who are past their prime will have to give way to the younger set.
Boxing needs top-caliber fighters who can give the sport the needed shot in the arm to keep the momentum that Mayweather and Pacquiao have created and maintained through the years.
Here are three of the young and promising fighters who could keep the fans hooked to boxing because of their skill and the entertainment value they can offer.
Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) is only 25 years old. Yet he already has 47 professional fights to his credit, just one short of Floyd Mayweather’s 48-0.
While Alvarez is not as active in the ring compared to Terence Crawford or Amir Khan, he is not a boring fighter to watch in the ring.
Compared to Gennady Golovkin, who had his debut on pay-per-view (PPV) against David Lemieux with just a little over 150,000 buys, Alvarez has fought at least four times on PPV and all of these fights made at least 350,000 buys with the highest recorded at 2.3 million buys against Floyd Mayweather in 2013.
Crawford is unbeaten in 27 fights and is current WBO light welterweight champion. Promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions, the Omaha, Nebraska native can draw a large crowd because of his entertaining fighting style.
Ranked No.7 in the Ring’s pound-for-pound list, Crawford who turned 28 last September is capable of switching from an orthodox stance to a southpaw and is a highly skilled fighter.
Crawford is being groomed by Arum to be the next opponent of Manny Pacquiao for his farewell fight on April 9.
While Golovkin has failed to impress PPV buyers in his recent fight against Lemieux, he is expected to attract more buyers when he takes on either Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez for his next fight. Both Cotto and Alvarez have impressive PPV fight records.
Golovkin is known for his punching power. His phenomenal rise to stardom could have something to do with his enviable career record aside from his being an ex-Olympian.
Golovkin is unbeaten in 34 pro fights and what is amazing about his seamless record is the fact that he has knocked out 31 of his 34 opponents since turning pro in 2006.
If there is a room for one more guy in the list, it would be Amir Khan, who is also being groomed by Arum as Pacquiao’s next foe. Khan has a fairly good fan base both in the US and in UK where he is quite popular.
