Rising Boxing Stars Who Need to Make a Statement in Their Next Fight

For a young fighter on the rise, nothing is more important than his latest fight. In competitive weight classes like the featherweight and welterweight neighborhoods, this is particularly true. Fighters like Danny Garcia, Leo Santa Cruz and Shawn Porter all need to make major statements in their next fights. 

"What have you done for me lately?" isn't just a question Janet Jackson asked in the 1980s. It's a refrain that fickle boxing fans throw in the face of contenders like Keith Thurman after just a single, less-than-thrilling performance. 

None of the fighters on this list are truly in a professional slump. But they all need to look good their next time out in order to maximize their prime earning years in a brutally competitive sport. 

10. Evgeny Gradovich

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I felt IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich got robbed in his last fight, a split-decision draw against Jayson Velez. Of the three scorecards, Tom Schreck's 117-111 for Gradovich was the only remotely accurate one.

It was hardly a poor performance, regardless of the decision. Velez is a talented, undefeated contender and legitimately the best opponent Gradovich has faced.

Still, it put the first mark on Gradovich's previously perfect record. And no division is hotter right now than featherweight. WBA champion Nicholas Walters and WBO titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko are two of the hottest fighters in the sport.

Throw in WBC champion Jhonny Gonzalez and three-division champion Abner Mares and it makes for a stacked weight class. That's not even accounting for undefeated junior featherweight champions Guillermo Rigondeaux, Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton, any one of whom might come up to 126 pounds for the right fight.

To stand out in that bunch, Gradovich needs to make a big statement in his next fight.  

9. Jessie Vargas

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According to the WBA, Jessie Vargas is a world champion at 140 pounds. In fact, he's no such thing. Danny Garcia is the WBA world champion at light welterweight.

As heavyweight contender Chris Arreola once laughingly told me, the WBA "regular" world title "ain't no belt. It's like some kind of commemorative watch or something." 

Still, Vargas is a legitimate young talent and undefeated as well. The victory that did earn him that "commemorative watch" was an impressive one, as he edged fellow unbeaten Khabib Allakhverdiev in a hard-fought contest. 

But Vargas' last performance was less impressive. He clearly deserved the decision against Antonio DeMarco last November, and DeMarco is a quality opponent, but he is also a fighter who was battered against Edwin Valero and Adrien Broner. 

So Vargas' win suffers by comparison. There has been rampant speculation that Vargas could be Manny Pacquiao's next opponent. Filipino outlet GMA News was reporting a potential deal just two days ago. 

If that is Pacquiao's next fight, the sales will be disappointing, to say the least. For Vargas to have any hope of being viewed as a credible opponent for Pacquiao, he needs at least one more fight first, and he needs to look sharp while winning it. 

8. Omar Figueroa

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Omar Figueroa is the WBC lightweight champion in recess, a status designated upon him while he recovers from an injury. At 25, he is 24-0 with 18 KOs. So it isn't unreasonable to view him as a potential future star. 

Figueroa's latest win was a good one, a stoppage of veteran Daniel Estrada last August. His split-decision victory over Jerry Belmontes last April was an exciting fight and certainly did nothing to damage his reputation.

But fair or not, a sustained layoff for injury is a momentum-killer. When Figueroa gets back in action, he's going to want to look outstanding in order to remind the fans that they need to remember his name.  

7. Mickey Bey

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Mickey Bey captured the IBF lightweight title from Miguel Vazquez by split decision last September. I thought Vazquez won the fight; Robert Hoyle, who scored 119-109 for Bey, must have filled out his card in his hotel room the night before. 

But Vazquez has been one of the least exciting and least active champions for years now, so there won't be much lingering outrage at his loss. And Bey did turn in a credible performance against a tricky opponent, even if I had him losing a close one. 

Bey is the top boxer on Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Money Team roster, so he should get some high-profile opportunities in the year ahead. He's a talented boxer with time to improve. 

A big performance his next time out could seriously raise his stock. 

6. Vyacheslav Glazkov

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Undefeated heavyweight contender Vyacheslav Glazkov earned the biggest win of his career last March when he out-pointed Tomasz Adamek. But his next fight out was a struggle, as he barely escaped with a majority decision against journeyman Derric Rossy in August. 

That fight took place during some of the harshest fighting of the summer in Glazkov's native Ukraine. According to the broadcast team during the fight, Glazkov had not heard from his parents in weeks. Those are hardly ideal conditions to compete under. 

But he also struggled with a big heavyweight like Rossy. At 6'3", 225 pounds, Glazkov is on the smaller side for a modern heavyweight.

He finished the year by stopping Darnell Wilson in November. Wilson is 40, saw his best days at cruiserweight and has lost 17 of 19 fights since 2008. 

Glazkov is scheduled to fight Steve Cunningham in March. He is an aging contender at heavyweight but a former world champion at cruiser. He's a talented boxer, so a win over him would do a lot to steady Glazkov's reputation in the division. 

5. Keith Thurman

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Keith Thurman has emerged in recent years as one of the sport's hottest rising stars. One Time has shown thrilling, fight-ending power and patient boxing intelligence. 

In his last fight of 2014, Thurman beat previously undefeated Leonard Bundu 120-107 on all three cards. It's a sign of how high Thurman has set expectations for himself that he was booed for his performance in that bout. 

His next scheduled fight is the biggest of his career by far. He faces Robert Guerrero in March. The Ghost is a multiple division world champion and a tough-nosed, well-rounded tactician. 

This is the fight that can truly push Thurman to the top of the welterweight rankings. 

4. Adrien Broner

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Adrien Broner was almost ridiculously overhyped early in his career. But given his flashy physical talents and brash personality, it's no mystery why. He has the tools to sell big-time fights, so long as he can take care of business in the ring. 

When Broner lost to Marcos Maidana in December 2013, there was no shortage of fans anxious to write him off. 

The rebuilding process since then has been slow for him, though not actually unreasonable for a fighter who is still just 25. Beating Carlos Molina and Emmanuel Taylor last year hardly makes Broner the hottest fighter in the sport, but they were credible wins. 

Broner is set to face John Molina in March. Molina isn't an elite contender, but he's a dangerous opponent. Broner has the opportunity to slip up here and seriously damage his career. 

But it's also an opportunity for him to turn in a statement win that lines him up for a shot at his fourth world title. 

3. Shawn Porter

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When Shawn Porter roughed up Devon Alexander and beat him by unanimous decision in December 2013, it garnered him the IBF welterweight title. When he smashed Paulie Malignaggi by Round 4 TKO last April, it made him one of the hottest fighters in the sport. 

When Porter defended his belt against Kell Brook last August, every single expert on RingTV picked him to triumph. I predicated a Porter win, as well. 

Instead, Brook fought the best fight of his career and won a decisive victory. 

It's wrong to dismiss Porter in the wake of that loss. Brook is a talented fighter who matches up well against Porter.

Porter is still one of the more dangerous fighters in a stacked division. That should mean big fights for him in the future. 

But first he's going to need to look good against Roberto Garcia in March. 

2. Danny Garcia

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In 2012, Danny Garcia emerged as one of the hottest young fighters in the sport. Sandwiched between two victories over future Hall of Famer Erik Morales, he consolidated the WBA and WBC belts at light welterweight with a sensational TKO victory over Amir Khan. 

In 2013, he fought a brilliant fight to turn back the dangerous Lucas Matthysse in one of the year's most anticipated fights. 

But 2014 was a down year for Garcia by any stretch. In March, he barely escaped Puerto Rico with his belt, edging Mauricio Herrera by contested majority decision. 

In August, Garcia made quick work of Rod Salka, knocking him out in two rounds. But Salka is an unranked lightweight. It was an insult to boxing fans who subscribe to Showtime that it even aired the fight. 

Garcia needs to use 2015 to get his reputation back to where it was heading into last year. He has a great opportunity to take the first step in that direction when he faces Lamont Peterson in April. 

1. Leo Santa Cruz

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Leo Santa Cruz could be one of the most exciting young fighters in the sport. He's an all-action fighter with outstanding ability to get the better of wild exchanges in the pocket. 

But at this point, he's way overdue for a meaningful fight. Since capturing the vacant IBF super bantamweight belt in 2012, he's made a career of fighting blown-up, over-the-hill flyweights and super flyweights like Eric Morel, Victor Zaleta, Cristian Mijares and Alex Munoz. 

His September 2014 defense against former sparring partner Manuel Roman was one of the year's most pathetic mismatches. And 2014 was full of pathetic mismatches. 

At 26, Santa Cruz needs to start competing in legitimate, championship-quality fights. The junior featherweight and featherweight divisions have no lack of big-name opponents out there waiting for him.