Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions has a pretty good number of fighters who are either unbeaten in their own careers or have the potential of one day becoming a boxing superstar, but none of these fighters could beat Pacquiao’s pay-per-view drawing power. In less than two years, Pacquiao will retire and Arum will have to find a replacement for his No.1 cash cow. Looking at the present Top Rank stable of fighters, there seems to be no one who can approximate Pacquiao’s pay-per-view (PPV) drawing power. Timothy Bradley, who is still under contract with Top Rank has been groomed by Arum to replace Pacquiao upon retirement but his PPV drawing power leaves much to be desired. Bradley remains unbeaten in 32 professional fights but his fighting style is less entertaining compared to Pacquiao which could be the reason for his low PPV numbers. He also has a very low fanbase. Among Pacquiao’s possible successors under the Top Rank umbrella other than Bradley, include; Juan Manuel Marquez, Mikey Garcia, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Brandon Rios, Mike Alvarado, Ruslan Provodnikov, Nonito Donaire and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., among others. Not satisfied with Bradley’s poor PPV record, Arum is now looking at Mikey Garcia as the next Top Rank star to replace the retirement-bound Pacquiao. Garcia is young with a remarkable professional boxing record. He may not be able to draw the kind of crowd that Pacquiao has kept over the years but he seems to have a potential of becoming a crowd drawer. The 26-year-old Garcia remains unbeaten in 33 professional fights. Arum was also hopeful that Cuban Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux could be groomed as one of Top Rank’s PPV stars but despite of his remarkable Olympic achievements and immaculate professional record, he keeps the crowd away with his boring style of fighting. Another potential candidate is Pacquiao’s countryman Nonito Donaire who gained international prominence when he put fellow Top Rank fighter Fernando Montiel to sleep. But the aspiring Filipino-American boxing star has fallen victim to Rigondeaux hit and run style. Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez is out of the race to replace Pacquiao as Top Rank leading fighter as he also retirement-bound while Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr has bungled his dream to duplicate his father’s achievements with his drug issues and undesirable training habits. It would be a long way for Arum to find a good replacement for Pacquiao in the Top Rank stable but new recruits and few rising fighters like Brandon Rios, Mike Alvarado, Ruslan Provodnikov, Glen Tapia and Jessie Vargas, among others, could be developed on the short term to fill the void that Pacquiao would create when he leaves Top Rank and retires for good.
