Under-the-Radar Boxers to Watch in 2016

Vyacheslav Shabranskyy might never win a world title. But after his outstanding win over Yunieski Gonzalez in December, his name should come up as a potential challenger in the red-hot light heavyweight division in 2016. 

Boxing fans are always on the lookout for the next star. Lightweight Gervonta Davis and junior middleweight Erickson Lubin are two prospects on the verge of claiming that status.

Tabbing future champions in boxing can be a bit like projecting picks for the NFL draft: You're bound to have some misses to go along with your hits.  

But every name on this list bears watching in the year ahead. 

10. Lamont Roach Jr., Lightweight

It's possible that I am jumping the gun a bit by expecting Lamont Roach Jr. to make a major breakthrough in 2016. He's had just nine professional fights, and none of them has gone more than six rounds. 

Still, the 20-year-old is a definite blue-chip prospect. He started in the sport at nine years old and accumulated a long list of accolades in the amateur ranks. In 2013, he won the national Golden Gloves and was selected as Boxing USA's most outstanding boxer. 

Roach is a smart fighter, which isn't surprising for a young man who majors in mechanical engineering on the side. If he has one weakness, it's a lack of power, as he's stopped just three of his nine opponents. 

Still, it's only a matter of time before Roach finds his way to near the top of the lightweight division.  

9. Nikolay Potapov, Bantamweight

Russian bantamweight Nikolay Potapov took most of 2015 off, but in October he made his U.S. debut, shutting out journeyman Pedro Melo in the main event on a Brooklyn Brawl card. Potapov should be positioned for a major fight in the 118-pound division in 2016. 

Potapov established his credentials as a legitimate contender in November 2014, when he beat Jason Canoy in a one-sided fight. He signed with Salita Promotions in 2015, so his visibility in the U.S. should rise in the year ahead. 

I'd like to see Potapov matched up with Rau'shee Warren, the three-time Olympic team member. Another terrific option would be Tomoki Kameda.  

8. Eduard Troyanovsky, Light Welterweight

Eduard Troyanovsky is the IBF world champion at light welterweight. But he's yet to fight outside of his native Russia, so he's not really on the radar in the U.S. 

Beyond that, the IBF belt at 140 pounds has been a joke for years now, since the IBF allowed it to stay with Lamont Peterson after he failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs. In the two biggest fights Peterson had during the time he held the belt, against Lucas Matthysse and Danny Garcia, the title wasn't even up for grabs. 

And Peterson lost both of those fights. 

Cesar Rene Cuenca claimed the vacant IBF belt in July 2015 by virtue of defeating China's IK Yang in Macao. Yang is one of the least qualified world-title challengers of all time, and Cuenca, although undefeated in 47 pro fights, had just two knockouts. 

Troyanovsky stopped Cuenca in six in November, running his record to 23-0 with 20 KOs. He's the type of boxer-puncher who could bring legitimacy back to the IBF light welterweight belt, and he would make an intriguing opponent for any of the fighters in the division's top 10. 

7. Marcus Browne

Marcus Browne was a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, so he turned professional with more attention than most would-be prospects garner. But 2015 was the year he really started to emerge as a legitimate contender at light heavyweight. 

He beat four experienced journeymen over the course of the year. In April, he forced Aaron Pryor Jr. to quit on his stool. He beat Cornelius White by near shutout in May and knocked out fading ex-champion Gabriel Campillo in Round 1 in September. He ended the year in December with a Round 4 stoppage of Francisco Sierra. 

With his record now at 17-0 with 13 KOs, Browne should be in line for a big fight sometime in 2016. The 175-pound weight class just might be the hottest in the sport right now, and Browne should be a player there. 

6. Antoine Douglas

Antoine Douglas was a fixture on Showtime's ShoBox in 2015, which is always a good indication that a fighter is ready to break into the championship mix. At this point, he is sitting on the bubble for the middleweight top 10. 

Douglas started boxing at age 10 and competed on the international stage as an amateur, so he has a solid technical background. But he's also a powerful and explosive puncher who mixes it up well on the inside with uppercuts, compact hooks and looping overhand rights. 

In 2015, Douglas knocked out a pair of unbeaten prospects in Thomas Lamanna and Istvan Szili. He also stopped veteran Australian Les Sherrington in November. 

The only blemish on Douglas' otherwise perfect record is a draw with Michel Soro in July 2014. Soro is a potential star in his own right. 

5. Michel Soro

Soro has dabbled at middleweight, and The Ring actually has him ranked No. 10 there. But it's the crowded junior middleweight field where I expect him to make his mark in 2016. His height and frame are better suited for 154 pounds. 

The field in that weight class is always crowded, but expect the tough Frenchman to elbow his way into the conversation. 

Soro actually took a stab at a world title back in 2012 when he challenged former 154-pound champion Zaurbek Baysangurov in the Ukraine. But that fight was a major step up in competition for Soro, and he wasn't ready for it. 

He's continued to get better in the years since. Winning a title at either 154 or 160 pounds is a tough task, and I'm not saying Soro will accomplish it. 

But he represents more of a roadblock than a steppingstone for any other fighter who hopes to reach the top. 

4. Joseph Parker

The heavyweight division is hotter than it has been in years. In November, Britain's Tyson Fury toppled longtime champion Wladimir Klitschko, signaling we might be at the dawn of a new era. 

In December, undefeated Cuban Luis Ortiz launched himself into the top five in the division with a stunning knockout of Bryant Jennings. Englishman Anthony Joshua has his fellow Brits reminiscing about the halcyon days of Lennox Lewis. 

Meanwhile, knockout artist Deontay Wilder holds the WBC belt, and longtime top contender Alexander Povetkin still hasn't gone anywhere. 

But in 2016, boxing fans should be ready to take note of Joseph Parker, as well. The New Zealand native trains in Las Vegas, which puts him at the heart of the boxing universe. 

In 2015, Parker went 5-0 with five KOs. None of those fights went beyond Round 4. While he wasn't exactly knocking out top contenders, he wasn't stopping club-level fighters, either. Yakup Saglam, Bowie Tupou and Kali Meehan are all legitimate gatekeepers in the division.

At 23, Parker has youth, and at 6'4", 235 pounds, he has size. In 2016, he should be ready to move into the heavyweight spotlight. It couldn't happen at a better time for a rising contender.  

3. Erickson Lubin

Erickson Lubin is just 20 years old and has had only 13 professional fights, but he is rising with a bullet, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the mix at 154 pounds before the end of 2016. 

Lubin was an amateur standout who turned professional at age 18. He is a skilled southpaw with fight-ending power in both hands. So far he's undefeated, with only three of his 13 bouts making it the distance. 

Lubin looked outstanding on a Premier Boxing Champions card in late November, knocking out the experienced Alexis Camacho with a picture-perfect right hook in Round 2. Prior to that, he stopped veteran journeyman Orlando Lora in September. 

The junior middleweight division is always super competitive. But expect to see The Hammer staking out his space there in the near future. 

2. Gervonta Davis

Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s legacy as a prizefighter is unquestionably one of greatness. So far, his success as a promoter has been mixed.

After getting stunned by a Round 1 knockout in 2014, Badou Jack regrouped to beat Anthony Dirrell and George Groves in 2015 and push his way to near the top of the super middleweight division. Ishe Smith and Mickey Bey have held alphabet-soup belts.

But up-and-comer Gervonta "Tank" Davis could be the breakout fighter for The Money Team. The lightweight is an impressive combination of skill and explosive power.

Davis went 5-0 with five KOs in 2015, including a Round 3 stoppage of former champion Cristobal Cruz in October. In September, he was sensational in stopping Recky Dulay in the first round on the Mayweather-Andre Berto undercard.

Davis is just 21 and has had only one scheduled 10-round fight to date, so there's no need to rush him into major fights. But expect to see him move closer to the spotlight in 2016.  

1. Vyacheslav Shabranskyy

After handling Yunieski Gonzalez on December 18, Vyacheslav Shabranskyy needs to be viewed as a true contender at light heavyweight. The Ukrainian's defeat of Gonzalez was far more decisive than Jean Pascal's win over the Cuban earlier this year, a fight I actually thought Pascal deserved to lose. 

That contested win by Pascal earned him a high-profile rematch with superstar Sergey Kovalev in January. So Shabranskyy's victory over Gonzalez should catapult him up the rankings and put him in the conversation for the best fights in the red-hot light heavyweight division. 

Shabranskyy is a boxer-puncher with a good chin. He first got my attention when he knocked out tough journeyman Garrett Wilson in January 2015. Wilson is a cruiserweight who went the distance with top contender Thabiso Mchunu and gave heavyweight contender Vyacheslav Glazkov fits as a late replacement in November 2013, going the distance in that fight as well. 

Shabranskyy is undefeated in 15 fights, with 12 knockouts. I don't know that he's ready for Kovalev or Andre Ward just yet, but he should be on the radar in 2016.