With Canelo Alvarez approaching the end of his illustrious career, Tyson Fury has named a current world champion who could become the next face of American boxing.
While being known predominantly in Mexico and the US, Canelo is generally considered a global star, having cemented himself as the sport’s biggest commercial powerhouse.
Not only has he crafted a Hall of Fame-worthy career but, having consistently headlined pay-per-view events for over a decade, the 36-year-old remains a highly sought-after commodity.
The reality, however, is that Canelo is probably just a few fights away from retirement, despite reclaiming his WBC title against Christian Mbilli last month.
In doing so, the Mexican proved that he remains a world-class operator at 168lbs, yet it is nonetheless worth considering who might succeed him as boxing’s biggest star in America.
Speaking with Michelle Joy Phelps, Fury suggested this could be Ryan Garcia, who retained his WBC welterweight title with a second-round finish over Conor Benn in September.
“I think, now, other than Canelo – and Canelo’s obviously on his way out – it’s Ryan Garcia in America.
“And there’s obviously some other guys, like [Devin] Haney and Abdullah Mason and Richardson Hitchins … Shakur Stevenson.”
Like Canelo, Garcia is primarily popular across the American and Hispanic markets, though some choose to poke fun at the fact that, despite his Mexican heritage, the 28-year-old does not speak Spanish.
Still, Garcia is certainly among the sport’s biggest stars, along with fellow welterweight champion Haney and WBO super-lightweight titlist Stevenson.
Former world champion Hitchins, on the other hand, has not quite reached their level of stardom, while Mason is at an entirely different stage of his career.
