Calling Pretender or Contender for Boxing's Untested Rising Stars

Boxing is a brutal and unforgiving sport, so it should not be too surprising that prospects are brought along slowly and developed with care. It's not unusual for a fighter to go undefeated for his first 20 to 30 fights and perhaps even collect some sort of "world title" trinket without ever truly being tested against a world-class talent. 

At any given time, boxing is full of undefeated young talents with a collection of buzz-worthy performances. Some of these prospects will develop into legitimate world-title contenders and even elite champions. 

But the majority will not.

Jessie Vargas

Jessie Vargas is an undefeated 24-year-old welterweight. He is a durable and exciting fighter and has already fought on some prominent cards in his young career. 

Vargas' best wins are a closely contested split decision over Josesito Lopez and unanimous decisions over Steve Forbes and Wale Omotoso. 

I don't really see him as a true future contender at welterweight. With only nine of his 23 wins coming by way of knockout, I have doubts about whether or not he would be able to stand up against the true championship class of the welterweight division.

There are better boxers at 147 who are also bigger punchers.

Glen Tapia

Glen Tapia is an undefeated light middleweight with a 20-0 record and 12 knockouts. Just 23, Tapia has an impressive amateur background. 

Tapia is scheduled to fight James Kirkland in December, which is a major step up in competition for him. 

Middleweight is a division where exciting talent emerges with regularity. Tapia is worth paying attention to. He's got solid boxing skills and employs strong footwork and balance when he walks an opponent down. 

I can see Tapia developing into a contender at the very least, if not some sort of belt holder. There is always a surplus of talent at 154, as it is a crossroads between welterweight and middleweight. Fighters who can mix boxing and brawling do well there.

Edwin Rodriguez

A native of the Dominican Republic and the fighting pride of Worcester, Mass., undefeated super middleweight Edwin Rodriguez gets his big shot in November against pound-for-pound star Andre Ward. 

Rodriguez showed that his nickname, "La Bomba," is well-deserved earlier this year when he destroyed light heavyweight prospect Denis Grachev in Monte Carlo in the first round.

I think Rodriguez is definitely a potential contender at 168, but I would like to have seen him take a few more fights against other top-10 super middleweights before getting thrown right in with Ward.

This seems like premature matchmaking to me.

George Groves

I hesitate to call George Groves untested, since he did beat Glen Johnson in December 2012, and in very impressive, one-sided fashion. But Johnson was about to turn 43, and it was his fourth straight loss. 

So I'm not really sure what that win proved about Groves at the world-class level. It won't be anything like the test Groves is going to face against his countryman, Carl Froch, in November. 

I think the 25-year-old Groves is definitely a legitimate contender at super middleweight, and he will show it against Froch. I do think the veteran champion will outmaneuver and outwork the young challenger and hand him his first loss.

But I expect Groves will show that he's for real and that he'll remain as a factor in the division and perhaps at light heavyweight throughout the rest of the decade.

Artur Szpilka

Artur Szpilka is an undefeated Polish heavyweight with a 16-0 record and 12 KOs. He stepped into the spotlight big time in the U.S. boxing scene in 2012 due to his two action-packed knockout victories over Mike Mollo on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. 

Szpilka is a tough, exciting fighter, but I'm not sure I believe a guy who can get knocked down three times in two fights against Mike Mollo is destined to truly challenge the division's elite. I don't think he's a true contender. 

But the great eras in heavyweight history are filled by exciting guys like Szpilka. The 1970s had guys like Jerry Quarry, George Chuvalo and Earnie Shavers. The 1990s had guys like Bert Cooper and David Tua. 

I think the next few years in the heavyweight division will be competitive as the dominance of the Klitschko brothers fades into history. And a fighter like Szpilka will be part of the excitement.

Bryant Jennings

Heavyweight prospect Bryant Jennings is 17-0 with nine KOs. He has fought a respectable level of competition for the amount of experience he has, but is due now to make a step up and challenge a heavyweight in the top 10 to 20. 

His best wins so far are a Round 9 stoppage of former belt holder Siarhei Liakhovich and a Round 5 TKO of Bowie Tupou. He looked very promising in both of those performances. 

Jennings is 6'2" and about 225 pounds, but he has an astonishing 84-inch reach. He's a regular-sized man with the arms and shoulders of a giant. In physical dimensions, he most closely resembles "The Big Bear" Sonny Liston of any former heavyweight champion. 

Jennings uses those massive arms to provide a very-hard-to-penetrate guard. He is excellent at picking off punches and returning with punishing overhands and hooks from long range. 

I think Jennings has the potential to be a contender, especially in a post-Klitschko universe. I'd like to see him fight a tall European heavyweight like Robert Helenius.

Mike Perez

Mike Perez is a former Cuban amateur standout who now lives in Ireland, where he has been enthusiastically adopted by the boxing fans in County Cork. He is a mauling, aggressive heavyweight puncher with explosive power. 

So far in his career, he is 19-0 with 12 KOs, though injuries have slowed him in the past year. But next week he returns to action in the biggest fight of his career, against fellow undefeated heavyweight knockout machine Magomed Abdusalamov. 

This fight is on the undercard of the Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens bout in Madison Square Garden. It should be an exciting night of boxing. 

I think Perez has the right mix of explosive punching and boxing fundamentals to be a true contender at heavyweight, if he is 100 percent healthy now.

He is a fighter I could see managing to back up Wladimir Klitschko. I'd be very curious to see how the lean Deontay Wilder would stand up to his whirlwind of violence.

Magomed Abdusalamov

Magomed Abdusalamov is an undefeated heavyweight who is a native of Dagestan in Russia but now training in the United States. He is one of the most exciting punchers in the sport, 18-0 with 18 knockouts. 

There is no doubt that "Mago" hits like a truck, but his balance is often questionable. He puts tremendous violence into his punches, and when he misses, he can end up in a bad position. 

When he hits, though, large men go down to the canvas.

Abdusalamov has something of the look of Rocky Marciano. He's got incredible power and a solid chin. He plods forward relentlessly and has already climbed off from the canvas to win fights, getting up from a knock down against Jameel McCline to win by stoppage in the next round. 

In a wide-open era that might follow the Klitschkos, Abdusalamov will almost certainly end up challenging for a title, regardless of how he does against fellow unbeaten Mike Perez next weekend. 

But against the very best heavyweight boxers, he may end up exposed.

Deontay Wilder

On October 26 in Atlantic City, Deontay Wilder improved his perfect record to 30-0 with 30 KOs when he stopped veteran journeyman Nicolai Firtha. Once again, Wilder's opponent failed to reach the fifth round.

Fans are beginning to grow impatient waiting for Wilder to step up and truly challenge himself against a fighter who ranks in the division's top 10 to 20.

Against former titleholder Siarhei Liakhovich in August, he delivered a frightening Round 1 KO. Against Firtha, he showed that despite his lean frame, he has the ability to handle himself against gigantic heavyweights on the inside.

I, too, am impatient to see Wilder fight a tougher quality of opponent. But I do think he is a legitimate threat in the division.

While I would definitely not make him a favorite against Wladimir Klitschko, I would give him a shot. I think he's got the boxing skills to reach Klitschko's chin, and he certainly has the power to beat Klitschko if he can touch him.

Whether or not Wilder has the frame to withstand a heavyweight counterattack remains to be seen. But he's got the kind of high-powered offense that can very often render defense obsolete.

Tyson Fury

Next February the bold-talking giant, Tyson Fury, should finally get his first real professional test against former world champion David Haye. The undefeated Fury does have more good wins than any other fighter on this list, including decisions over Dereck Chisora and Kevin Johnson. 

Fury is a big, belligerent brawler with some boxing skills. He is agile for a man of his height. So he's a danger in the ring with almost anybody. 

But I do think he's ultimately limited athletically, and against the explosive big punchers and solid boxers in the division, this is going to limit his success. He got knocked on his back against cruiserweight Steve Cunningham and was losing the first half of the fight before his huge size advantage turned the tide for him. 

I think Fury is ultimately more pretender than contender and will get knocked out by Haye in February.