Young Boxers with the Potential to Become a No. 1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter
Trying to predict that a young rising star in boxing will become a pound-for-pound star is about as hard as predicting which NFL draft pick will end up wearing a yellow blazer in Canton. To identify the potential is challenging enough.
Taking into account all the potential setbacks and stumbling blocks is impossible. Given the long odds, the smart-money bet would be that none of the fighters on this list will ever quite make it to the very top of the pound-for-pound list.
Still, it's a fun game to play as a fan. And it allows a writer to build an article around highlighting some promising young talent who deserves the attention.
In this article, I am defining "young" as 25 and under. That means some likely candidates, such as Keith Thurman and Vasyl Lomachenko, just miss the cut.
8. Adrien Broner
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I can almost hear some of my readers groaning out loud as they read this first entry. Adrien Broner's out-of-ring antics make him an easy target for criticism. They also raise the reasonable question about how serious he is in his approach to the sport.
But it's not reasonable to completely dismiss what he's accomplished at just 25. Broner is already a three-division champion.
This is, of course, an era of grossly cheapened championship belts. The only one of Broner's title wins that truly blew me away was his TKO of WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco.
Still, Broner is clearly a talented boxer, with the promotional connections in place to go as far as possible, provided he can keep winning when he gets in the ring. I wouldn't bet a dime that he'll ever reign at the top of the pound-for-pound list.
But he deserves at least a mention on a list like this one.
7. Saul Alvarez
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It's nearly inevitable that when a fighter becomes a media darling, a certain backlash will rise against him, with fans deriding him as "overhyped." Boxing fans can be a cynical and world-weary bunch, which is one reason it is enjoyable to write for them.
It is accurate, to a degree, to call Saul Alvarez overhyped. At the same time, Canelo has some legitimately big credentials for a fighter of just 24. He's been a professional since he was 15 and continues to improve in the ring.
He's also in a perfect position to jump up the pound-for-pound rankings. It's conceivable he could fight both Miguel Cotto and Gennady Golovkin this year. Winning both those fights would put him well within the pound-for-pound top five.
I don't think Alvarez would beat GGG, though. And truthfully, I don't see him ever reigning as the pound-for-pound king.
What I do see in him is an entertaining fighter with the heart to take on the toughest available opponents. And considering his age, he still has room to grow, so he has to at least be considered in this conversation.
6. Naoya Inoue
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Terms like "phenom" get thrown around loosely when discussing athletes. Yet in the case of Naoya Inoue of Japan, it's completely justified.
Last April, just four days before his 21st birthday, Inoue stopped veteran WBC light flyweight champion Adrian Hernandez. It was Inoue's sixth professional fight.
That would have been impressive enough for the year. But on December 30, Inoue jumped over the flyweight division and knocked out WBO super flyweight champion Omar Narvaez in just two rounds.
Narvaez was one of the longest reigning boxing champions on the planet. His only professional loss had come in 2011, against Nonito Donaire. And Donaire didn't come close to knocking Narvaez out.
So Inoue deserves to be viewed as one of the sport's most exciting young stars. The biggest strike against him as a potential No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter is his size. Boxers in the lowest weight classes just don't top the pound-for-pound rankings.
Then again, given his age and level of experience, it's not inconceivable that Inoue could bump up toward super bantamweight or featherweight in the next several years.
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5. Jose Benavidez
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Light welterweight Jose Benavidez recorded the biggest win of his young career last December, taking a unanimous decision from Mauricio Herrera. That might have been the single worst judging decision of the year, though. The entire HBO broadcast team felt Herrera deserved to win, with unofficial scorer Harold Lederman giving the fight to Herrera, 116-112.
That doesn't exactly sour me on Benavidez, though. Putting the crafty Herrera in with a 22-year-old fighter like Benavidez was simply risky matchmaking. Herrera is the same wily veteran who made light welterweight champion Danny Garcia look bad last April.
At 6 feet tall and sporting a 74-inch reach, Benavidez looks like an athlete who was created to box. He should have no trouble filling out to between 147 and 160 pounds, where the sport's biggest fights usually take place.
The Herrera fight was likely a good learning experience for Benavidez. He might have got an undeserved win, but I still expect to see him in major fights in the years ahead.
4. Julian Williams
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Julian Williams still hasn't recorded a true signature win, but he's picked up victories against some credible gatekeeper/journeyman-level opponents—such as Freddy Hernandez, Orlando Lora and Joachim Alcine. His September 2013 fight with fellow hot prospect Hugo Centeno Jr. could have been an extremely informative fight, but a third-round, accidental clash of heads caused it to be ruled a no-contest.
But there's little doubt that Williams is one of the young lions in the mix between 147 and 160 pounds. He has a great amateur background and is a product of the outstanding Philadelphia scene.
Williams should take a significant step up in competition this year. How high he can rise still remains to be seen, but he's part of the core group of young fighters who should make the next few years exciting.
3. Hugo Centeno Jr.
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Oxnard, California, native Hugo Centeno Jr. is yet another one of the immensely talented and desperately hungry young fighters in the light middleweight division. As noted in the previous slide, he already faced fellow blue-chip prospect Julian Williams way back in September 2013, with the bout ruled a no-contest due to an accidental clash of heads prior to Round 4.
The fact that both young fighters were willing to meet so early in their careers shows what kind of confidence they both possess. It makes the future look promising for boxing fans. There should be some terrific fights in the next few years.
Centeno is a long, angular fighter, standing nearly 6'2" and boasting a 75.5-inch reach. Only 23, he has already spent time in camps with some of the sport's biggest stars.
Centeno recorded a big win last December, when he knocked out James De La Rosa in five rounds. De La Rosa was only three months removed from a one-sided decision over Alfredo Angulo.
2. Jermell Charlo
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Another outstanding junior middleweight contender, Jermell Charlo is the younger of the Charlo twins—by a minute. So far, he has actually compiled the better resume of the two.
In January of last year, Charlo turned in a brilliant performance against tough journeyman Gabriel Rosado. Rosado's record is not impressive on paper, but he's fought some of the very best in the world.
Despite what the judges scored, Rosado was fighting on very even terms with former WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin before the fight was stopped in Round 10 due to Rosado's cuts. Rosado was robbed against Floyd Mayweather's protege, super middleweight contender J'Leon Love.
But Charlo pretty much shut Rosado out. His speed flustered Rosado all night, and Charlo looked like a far better ring general than the veteran.
Charlo should get a title shot this year. He's arguably among the top five in the division right now. He has a great chance of entering the pound-for-pound rankings within the next few years.
1. Jermall Charlo
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I've rated Jermall Charlo just above his twin, Jermell, in this list, despite the fact that his resume isn't quite so impressive right now. The one-minute older, one-inch taller Jermall appears to have the bigger punch, having knocked out 16 of 20 opponents in his undefeated career.
His team had enough confidence in him to match him with IBF junior middleweight champion Carlos Molina last March. The fight fell through, due to Molina being picked up in Las Vegas on an outstanding arrest warrant.
But the fact that Al Haymon was ready to put Charlo in with a tough veteran like Molina proves he's ready for the big time. Haymon doesn't take foolish risks with his young fighters.
Like his brother, Charlo should start appearing in major fights this year. With the young talent surrounding him in the division, he should be in some of the biggest fights in the sport in the next several years.
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