10 Under-the-Radar Boxers with Potential to Be Pound-for-Pound Stars

Everyone knows the Floyd Mayweathers and Manny Pacquiaos of the world.

And anyone can thumb through Ring Magazine to get its viewpoint on the world's 10 best fighters.

But it takes a little more work to uncover the best fighters outside of the self-professed "Bible of Boxing's" spotlight.

We endeavored to do just that with a pair of criteria: None of the 10 fighters featured are in Ring's most recent pound-for-pound top 10, and none of them have ever headlined their own pay-per-view event.

The dual criteria eliminate super high-profile fighters like Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, who are not included in the magazine's most recent list of the world's best, and also strikes guys like Guillermo Rigondeaux and Shinsuke Yamanaka—who are in the top 10 but not exactly on the tip of the tongue of the mainstream fan.

Click through to take a look at our list and drop in a suggestion or two in the comments section.

Keith Thurman

Record

25-0, 21 KOs

Notable fights

Robert Guerrero (UD 12), Jesus Soto Karass (TKO 2), Diego Chaves (KO 10)

Why he’s here?

With a series of knockouts and one-sided decisions, Keith Thurman has established himself as the 20-something future of the welterweight division once Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao leave the spotlight. He's held the WBA's "regular" title beneath Mayweather and is slotted as the No. 5 contender at 147 pounds by Ring Magazine. 

Where he’ll go?

Thurman has repeatedly suggested that he'd like to take on Mayweather before Money retires, but it's more likely he'll have to settle for dates with fellow welterweight wannabes Kell Brook, Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana.

Kell Brook

Record

34-0, 23 KOs

Notable fights

Shawn Porter (MD 12), Vyacheslav Senchenko (TKO 4), Ionut Dan Ion (TKO 4)

Why he’s here?

Boxing journalists of all sizes were preparing to anoint Porter as the division's post-Mayweather future when Brook, an unbeaten but globally unheralded Englishman, outworked the previously unbeaten American down the stretch to earn a majority decision last summer in Southern California and win the IBF title at 147 pounds. He's since defended once and will meet once-beaten countryman Frankie Gavin on May 30. 

Where he’ll go?

Providing he gets past Gavin in title defense No. 2, Brook will probably continue to bang the drum for an all-England showdown with Khan. If that doesn't come, Thurman would be a competitive second choice.

Carl Frampton

Record

20-0, 14 KOs

Notable fights

Hugo Fidel Cazares (KO 2), Kiko Martinez II (UD 12), Chris Avalos (TKO 5)

Why he’s here?

Nicknamed "The Jackal," the multiskilled 28-year-old Northern Ireland native blew away former two-division champion Cazares to stamp his ticket to the world stage in April 2014 and then won the IBF junior featherweight title from Martinez five months later. He subsequently defended with a five-round stoppage of Avalos.   

Where he’ll go?

Manager and trainer Barry McGuigan, a former world champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, suggested after Carl Frampton's title win over Martinez that his protege can be the among the greats his country has ever produced.

"This kid could end up as the best Irish fighter there has ever been," McGuigan told David Kelly of the Belfast Telegraph. "I said a long time ago that this guy was going to be the world champion and people laughed at me. We are thrilled."

Nicholas Walters

Record

25-0, 21 KOs

Notable fights

Nonito Donaire (TKO 6), Vic Darchinyan (KO 5), Daulis Prescott (TKO 7)

Why he’s here?

The Jamaican known as "Axe Man" has spent the last 12 months playing the featherweight legend-killer, dropping three-division champ Darchinyan three times in a five-round erasure in May 2014 and hammering recent Boxing Writers Association of America fighter of the year Donaire into a six-round submission to capture the WBA top-tier title at 126 pounds last October.

Where he’ll go?

Given the amount of talent within and near the featherweight division, it's a good time to be Nicholas Walters. An ultimate showdown with Top Rank's 126-pound phenom—Vasyl Lomachenko—could be the biggest prize down the road. The two are slotted No. 1 (Walters) and No. 3 (Lomachenko) in the division by the U.K.-based International World Boxing Rankings.

Takashi Uchiyama

Record

23-0-1, 19 KOs

Notable fights

Juan Carlos Salgado (TKO 12), Takashi Miura (TKO 8), Jomthong Chuwatana (TKO 2)

Why he’s here?

Takashi Uchiyama is probably the longest-running champion whom only the hardcore fans have heard of. He won his WBA title at 130 pounds in January 2010 and has defended 10 times since, winning eight times by stoppage, including a two-round whipping of Chuwatana earlier this month. He was sidelined by an elbow cartilage injury that necessitated surgery, however, and is expected to be out until late in the year.

Where he’ll go?

Uchiyama has an eighth-round TKO victory over the WBC champion in the 130-pound division, Miura, so the 35-year-old's path to widespread recognition may involve a climb to lightweight or beyond.

Juan Francisco Estrada

Record

32-2, 23 KOs

Notable fights

Roman Gonzalez (L UD 12), Brian Viloria (SD 12), Giovani Segura (TKO 11)

Why he’s here?

He lost a unanimous decision to Gonzalez nearly three years ago in Los Angeles in a failed bid for a 108-pound championship, but the Nicaraguan's recent breakthrough on HBO might wind up to be good news. Juan Francisco Estrada won the WBA and WBO belts at 112 pounds one fight after the loss to Gonzalez and has since defended five times, including three by stoppage, most recently against Rommel Asenjo (TKO 3) in March.

Where he’ll go?

Gonzalez called Estrada's name after beating Edgar Sosa last weekend, suggesting that he could better the decision outcome with an earlier result in a second-chance unification.

“I believe it was a very close fight, so I’d like the opportunity to be able to beat (Estrada) by a larger margin,” Gonzalez said at the post-fight media gathering. “I want to demonstrate that I’m able to knock him out.”

Vasyl Lomachenko

Record

4-1, 2 KOs

Notable fights

Orlando Salido (L SD 12), Gary Russell Jr. (MD 12), Gamalier Rodriguez (KO 9)

Why he’s here?

For a guy who was a .500 career fighter just 14 months ago, the 27-year-old Ukrainian has bounced back nicely. He made a memorable jump from pro debut to title fight to begin his pro career, and even though the second match yielded a close loss to veteran grinder Salido, he's lost few exchanges and even fewer rounds in capturing a championship and defending it twice in three subsequent outings.

Where he’ll go?

Fights on all levels of significance are likely within the former two-time Olympic gold medalist's reach, topped by an eventual summit with Top Rank stablemate Walters, either in their current featherweight frameworks or perhaps a few more pounds up the ladder. 

Marco Huck

Record

38-2-1, 26 KOs

Notable fights

Alexander Povetkin (L MD 12), Ola Afolabi III (MD 12), Firat Arslan II (TKO 6)

Why he’s here?

The Serbian-born resident of Germany was stopped in 12 rounds by Steve Cunningham in an IBF cruiserweight title try in 2007, but he came back to pick up the WBO title less than two years later. He still wears the crown in 2015 after 13 title defenses and had a near miss at a second-tier WBA heavyweight belt in 2012 after losing a majority decision to Povetkin in 2012.

Where he’ll go?

It may be more novelty at this point than competition, but Marco Huck has been linked with former four-division champion Roy Jones Jr. for a U.S. date this summer. 

"I might be fighting in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 4,” Jones told FightHype.com. “I (am going to) bring my fireworks and I’ll probably put (them) back up and get ready for Marco Huck.”

Naoya Inoue

Record

8-0, 7 KOs

Notable fights

Adrian Hernandez (TKO 6), Samartlek Kokietgym (TKO 11), Omar Andres Narvaez (KO 2)

Why he’s here?

Just 22 years old, Naoya Inoue is already known as “The Monster.” The native of Japan has competed in just eight pro bouts but is already a two-division champion, a stunning achievement in any weight class. He won a 108-pound title in his fifth fight and added a belt at 115 pounds in his last bout, a second-round knockout of a 39-year-old Narvaez in December. 

Where he’ll go?

Inoue could be another potential beneficiary of Gonzalez's impressive Saturday night curtain-raiser on HBO. The Nicaraguan discussed a possible match with Inoue in the ring with Max Kellerman and reached the post-fight media gathering with a big fight involving little men still on his mind.

Gonzalez is the WBC champion at 112 pounds.

“(Inoue) is a great fighter. He hits very hard, he is very strong,” Gonzalez said. “If Mr. Honda and Teiken Promotions wants to take me to 115, I’m ready. Or when I don’t have any more opponents to fight at 112. For the moment I’m fighting at 112, and he’s at 115.”

Arthur Abraham

Record

42-4, 28 KOs

Notable fights

Edison Miranda II (TKO 4), Jermain Taylor (KO 12), Andre Ward (L UD 12)

Why he’s here?

Arthur Abraham was one of the fighters who attempted to fill the post-Bernard Hopkins void at middleweight after he won the IBF title there in December 2005 and defended 10 times. He climbed to super middleweight for a Showtime tournament in 2009 and seemed done after losses to Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch and Ward by 2011. However, since then he has gone 10-1 and chalked up two reigns as the WBO's champion in the weight class.

Where he’ll go?

The 35-year-old Abraham will meet Robert Stieglitz for the fourth time in July, and though his track record may not warrant a substantial pound-for-pound climb, his long-term connection to relevance could push him into a higher-profile championship match by default.