'Next Manny Pacquiao,' Promoter Address Possible Fights With Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin

Eumir Felix Marcial could face Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin if he manages to reach middleweight supremacy. But his promoter, Sean Gibbons, is not optimistic that Alvarez and Golovkin will still be around by the time Marcial becomes a worthy contender.

Following an impressive run in the amateur ranks, Marcial officially turned pro when he recently inked a six-year deal with Pacquiao's MP Promotions. The 24-year-old boxer, whom some have dubbed as the "next Manny Pacquiao," will be competing in the middleweight division but insisted that he is still far from the level of Golovkin and Alvarez, the two fighters who have dominated the division in recent years.

When asked about the possibility of facing Alvarez and Golovkin, whom Marcial referred to as his "idols," the Filipino sensation admitted that he hasn’t thought about it yet. Instead, Marcial pointed out that this is just the beginning and that he still needs to prove himself as a pro.

"At this point, I haven’t thought about it yet sir. I still have a long way to go. I still need to train properly, there’s a lot of challenges waiting ahead," Marcial told ABS-CBN Sports during the recent Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Gibbons, on the other hand, provided a more detailed explanation regarding the idea of a fight with either Alvarez or Golovkin. The president of MP Promotions said that realistically, by the time Marcial finally becomes worthy of a shot against either of the two, Golovkin may already be retired, and Alvarez may have already left for higher weight classes.

"In two or three years, Triple G is gonna be watching Eumir's fights from the front row. I think he's got a limited time left, two years at the most," he explained. "Canelo is wonderful but he's already gone up to 168. These are guys that are great now. Canelo is still gonna be around but he's not gonna be at 160, he's gonna be at 168."

However, Gibbons is confident that Marcial will still be competing against the top guys in the middleweight division. Based on his prediction, Marcial will fight other opponents who have the same qualities as Golovkin and Alvarez.

"Eumir will have a whole new class of fighters that are coming up now. But the Triple Gs of the world, Canelo are going to be gone from that division. He [Marcial] will be fighting the Triple Gs that just have a different name, but (they're) the same type of guy," Gibbons said.

Marcial is currently tied-up with MP Promotions as a professional boxer. However, Gibbons clarified that his focus in the first year of the deal will be to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.