In boxing today, what makes a “star”?

Last Saturday, Jaron “Boots” Ennis notched his 32nd win as a professional, and his 29th knockout, after battering David Avanesyan for five rounds in front of a hometown crowd in Philadelphia. Afterward, he talked of taking on Terence Crawford, and while “Bud” would start as the favorite against not only Ennis but pretty much all of his likely opponents, the fact that the Philadelphian’s name is even being mentioned as a credible foe for the pound-for-pound great is testament to his quality. Given his immense talent, his fan-pleasing style and his quiet yet outgoing personality, Ennis seems to have all the qualities to become a bona fide star in the sport.

But what exactly qualifies someone as a “star”? How does he or she get there, and what are the key attributes to achieve such status?

Is it skill and achievement? Not solely, surely. Larry Holmes was a better boxer and more accomplished champion than Mike Tyson – but without remotely the star wattage. So, is it freakish knockout power? That surely helps, although Floyd Mayweather Jr. – as big a star as boxing has seen in recent years – didn’t display much of that during the height of his fame. Is it charisma and personality? A combination of all those things? And how to categorize someone like Shakur Stevenson, who is being excoriated for recent performances but whose most recent outing drew ESPN’s highest figures for a boxing card this year?

We asked a trio of boxing industry insiders – a Hall of Fame publicist, a television executive and a promoter – to offer their thoughts on what does and does not make a star in the sport.

The Publicist

Fred Sternburg was recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame following a career in which he has worked with the likes of David Tua, Winky Wright, Gennady Golovkin and, most famously, Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach.

“I worked with Shakur when he signed with Top Rank, after he had won the silver medal [at the 2016 Olympic Games]. Because James Prince was his manager – and I’ve worked with him, with Winky [Wright] and others – his team literally said to him, ‘Do whatever he tells you to do.’ And although I wasn’t with him a lot, when I was, he always made himself available. He was a pleasant guy and had a great style of fighting. I haven’t worked with him for a few years, and something has clearly soured between him and Top Rank. But I keep thinking back to how he destroyed Oscar Valdez. Where’s that guy now?

“Sometimes economics gets in the way of making fights, as we know. It is hard. But I think the main thing is, these guys need to be cooperative. They need to buy into the program. And if they have some hesitation, they need to speak up and say, ‘Well, instead of that, can we do this?’ if they want to change things up to fit their personality. That way it’s natural and they’re enjoying it.

“Not everyone can be Floyd. Floyd has it down to a science. And, you know, he was the first to really take on that bad guy persona. When he fought Arturo Gatti, I saw what he was doing and I said, ‘It’s like wrestling. Somebody has to be a good guy and a bad guy. This guy recognizes it.’ He just knew he was going to beat the shit out of Gatti, just by the way he was treating him. And that’s what he did. And that was his last fight with [Top Rank’s] Bob [Arum]. And off he went, and he perfected that whole shtick.

“First of all, you have to be good. Second of all, you have to be dedicated. And sure, Floyd would work at odd hours or whatever. But he put the work in. Everyone wants to be like him. No one wants to do the work.”

The Promoter

Nakisa Bidarian is, along with Jake Paul, the co-founder of MVP Promotions.

“The most important thing that any fighter or athlete or person has to determine is, do they truly want to be a star? I sat down with Amanda Serrano in September of 2021, right before we signed her to MVP. And I said, ‘This is what I see for you. This is the road map. This is what I think your potential is. But do you want to be a star? And she said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘OK, but do you really want to be a star? Do you know what that takes? You know what that requires? You know what that means?’ And, you know, for me, we’re in a day and age where consumers have never had more access to content, and attention spans are shorter than they’ve ever been. You’re literally making a determination if you’re interested in something through social media, on a minute-by-minute basis. And those algorithms are feeding you content based on your likes and preferences. So how can you get the attention of a fan to become invested in you beyond saying, ‘I was at the Olympics, where I have a great record’?

“I often say this about Jake Paul: He’s the most professional boxer in professional boxing. And people say, ‘What do you mean?’ I mean he’s willing to do every interview. He’s always on time. He’s open to feedback. He understands his opponent and what their strengths are in terms of talking points. And so he’s able to paint a narrative and a story that gets people engaged. He has semi-devastating power, right? You can say he’s knocked out people who may not be at the top of the sport, but he’s knocked out people in exciting, viral fashion that breaks through and gets attention. So he kind of possesses the desire and the know-how of how to be a star. And you have to be a professional to be a star.

“The curse of social media is that you have to do it if you want to be relevant. The blessing is, it’s never been easier to get your name out there. And in the world of combat sports, unlike traditional ball-and-stick sports, social media is your only true path to name recognition. When a college football player, basketball player or baseball player comes into the pro leagues, they’ve had the benefit of one, two, three, four years in college, and sometimes a high school career that has been closely followed. The star power is already there. We don’t have that benefit. In combat sports, you can talk about the Olympics, but the Olympics are two weeks, every four years.

“It doesn’t matter who you are today – it’s who you want to be tomorrow and what you’re willing to do to get there. It’s about having the team around you: your coach, your manager, who all understand that mission and have that desire as well. Oftentimes boxers think they deserve a certain level of pay because they have a certain record. It’s a supply-demand equation, right? The supply of your skills is only as valuable as the demand for people to buy the tickets, to watch it on TV, to buy your T-shirt and for sponsors to be associated with your company or with your brand as a boxer. So you have to have that desire. And if you do, even if the personality is not there today, then I think it’s worth the investment, because you may have a transcending skill set that is able to capture an audience.”

The Television Executive

Stephen Espinoza is the former president of Showtime Sports and currently an independent sports media consultant.

“This reminds me of that famous definition of obscenity: I’m not sure what it is, but I know it when I see it. But I think part of it is authenticity. There’s a certain natural appeal to someone who is completely comfortable in their own skin, who is at ease with who they are and what they represent.

“Two guys who come to mind in having this conversation are Deontay Wilder and [Gervonta] ‘Tank’ Davis, and maybe it’s not a coincidence that they’re both known for prodigious power. Look at Shakur Stevenson, who’s someone who’s been taking a bit of a beating lately – not literally, but figuratively. He’s a very skilled fighter, a supreme athlete who has not developed that knockout power; is that the difference between superstardom and where he is? You show that one-punch power and then all of a sudden, you’re transformed from an ordinary athlete into something superhuman, a superhero. But certainly, it’s not a requirement. Floyd Mayweather, certainly in the latter stages, didn’t have knockout power – although he certainly made an impact at the lighter weights as he was coming up.

“But I do think it is about sort of forging an emotional connection with the audience. We’ve certainly seen less-than-thrilling fights where fighters are given a pass because, at certain points, they did all they could and they just didn’t have a cooperative, willing opponent. But for that to happen, the audience needs to feel like the fighter has given us all, that he pushed the pace, he took risks and did everything he could. And, look, in fairness to Shakur, maybe he is so physically gifted that he makes it look easier than it is.

“I think there’s also a difference with the fighters who get it from a PR and marketing perspective. Floyd used and milked every opportunity he had in front of every camera. And he wasn’t mailing it in on any of them. You’ve seen him on satellite media tours. And to be able to bring that level of engagement, when you’re doing the same interview 20 times in a row, is a skill, and it’s a gift. So I think there are aspects outside of fighting, which also can be honed and developed, which really help contribute to developing the brand and the charisma of a fighter.

“The process of identifying future stars certainly isn’t unique to boxing. But I think it is somewhat different than other sports. When a team is scouting, sure, it would be nice if they find someone who can sell the team – but mostly they’re looking to win championships. In boxing, scouting is more akin to Hollywood or music. You’re not just judging the performance; what is the package? How is it marketable? How can it be sold? So, in terms of evaluating the future of a fighter, the difficulty is that banking on those tangible boxing achievements will only get you so far. If you only paid attention to amateur titles and Olympic pedigree, you’d miss a lot of guys who went on to become major stars in the pros. And you would be betting on a lot of guys who were good, but didn’t have the connection, the charisma, to really establish superstardom.”

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcasted about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.