Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi believes 2018 will be a very big year for Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs).
In 2017, Garcia solidified his position as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
In January, he captured the WBC lightweight title with a destructive third round knockout of undefeated Dejan Zlaticanin at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He moved up to junior welterweight in July, to dominate four division world champion Adrien Broner at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The knock out over Zlaticanin made Garcia a three division world champion - after capturing world titles at featherweight and super featherweight.
Next month, Garcia will attempt to become a four division world champion when he faces IBF junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
If Garcia wins, he will go between the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions to seek out the biggest fight possible. Despite his desire to win a title at 140, Garcia has received permission from the WBC to retain his title at 135 until a firm decision is made with respect to his future weight class.
"Boxing is always changing and the one who is going to be the one to watch is Mikey Garcia. He's made his name but he is on the rise again and he's got some serious momentum going," Malignaggi told Sky Sports.
"He has that star quality and star potential but is back after that lay-off and if he gets the right fights, I think 2018 is going to be a big year for him. People are already waiting for him to explode, he's got the whole package, it's just the right exposure he needs."
Two of the biggest names for Garcia to fight include WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko - who plans to move up to 135-pounds this year, and WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares, who returns later this month in a voluntary title defense against Mercito Gesta.