Debate around which fighter is currently the face of boxing has become more fervent in recent months, especially given some of the big fights fans have been treated to.
Former trainer Teddy Atlas has weighed in with his two cents on the matter, and has named a different fighter to the ones normally put forward for that particularly title.
Mexican icon Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, dynamite puncher Gervonta Davis and consensus pound for pound king are some of the names most often heralded as the face of the sport, with all three generating huge numbers at both the live gate and pay per view in recent outings.
However, Atlas named WBC heavyweight world champion as potentially the face of boxing whilst appearing on ProBox TV – though admitted he should be in more high level competition.
“Another problem with going after Fury is, and I know some people will probably get mad when I say this, you could argue he’s the face of boxing right now.”
“He’s the heavyweight champ, he’s the most vocal guy and he’s the best self promoter in the game.
It’s almost impossible not to see or hear something about him, so how are you going to get rid of a guy that is really the star, in many ways, of your franchise?”
“There’s a lot of issues there. I would love to see him fight more – I would love to see him in more completive fights.”
Fury’s fast approaching crossover clash with MMA star Francis Ngannou has been on the receiving end of criticism from the boxing world, who would far rather ‘The Gypsy King’ take on Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed bout instead.
Promoter Frank Warren has recently claimed he is confident the historic fight can be agreed for 2024, although no one could blame fight fans for having a degree of scepticism at this stage.