Up-and-Coming Boxers Most in Need of a Signature Win
In boxing, a fighter is ultimately only as good as his resume. Flashy wins over second-tier competition can certainly set tongues wagging and make the press pay attention. But to move up to the next level of stardom, a fighter has to beat established contenders and champions.
I expect most of the names on this list to be legitimate stars in the next few years, but they all need one big win to move firmly into that category.
Note that in a few cases, I have included current belt-holders. In the alphabet-soup universe of professional boxing, just because you are called a world champion does not mean that you actually are a world champion.
10. Erickson Lubin
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I almost hesitate to include Erickson Lubin on this list. For a fighter who is just 21 and has been professional for not quite three years, his resume is very solid. He is fighting in the always-competitive super welterweight division, a sea that is populated by sharks.
Still, he clearly has the tools to be a potential superstar. At 5'11" and with a 76" reach, it is not unrealistic to think that he could ultimately be a multi-division champion.
He has proved all he can prove against stepping-stone opponents like Orlando Lora and Daniel Sandoval. I don't think it's a stretch to expect to see Lubin beat a true contender in 2017.
9. Gervonta Davis
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Like Erickson Lubin, Gervonta Davis is just 21, but he has already shown signs that he might develop into a superstar; the compact and explosive lightweight is 16-0 with 15 KOs.
He has already defeated a world champion, but that was a badly faded Cristobal Cruz, who was at his best as a featherweight. Davis also knocked out fringe contender Luis Sanchez last December.
There were reports over the summer that Davis might be set to face IBF super featherweight champion Jose Pedraza. A fight with Jason Sosa was close enough to being made that it was briefly listed on Boxrec.com, though it has since been removed.
A drop to 130 pounds could make sense for Davis, given his height (5'6"). Still, I would be interested to see him against top fighters at either super featherweight or lightweight in the coming year.
8. Yunier Dorticos
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Yunier Dorticos is coming off from the biggest win of his career. In May, he went to France and stopped Youri Kalenga to capture the vacant interim WBA cruiserweight belt. It improved the Cuban's record to 21-0 with 20 KOs.
In an overshadowed weight class like cruiserweight, that win hardly places Dorticos in the spotlight, but it should put him in line for a shot at WBA champion Denis Lebedev.
A fight between Dorticos and Lebedev might not get a lot of notice in the United States, but it would be a big fight in Europe, where the 200-pound class gets a lot more respect. The Russian is a long-time star in the division.
Dorticos is 6'3" and has an 80" reach, so it is also intriguing to speculate on an eventual move to heavyweight for the Cuban.
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7. Konstantin Ponomarev
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Unlike many Russian boxers, Konstantin Ponomarev did not have an extensive amateur career; instead, he turned pro at just 17. Now aged 23, he has already compiled a record of 30-0, with 13 KOs.
He is now firmly established in the United States as a rising contender, and he is promoted by Top Rank and trained by Abel Sanchez. He was supposed to fight Errol Spence Jr. over the summer but had to withdraw due to an injured hand.
Ponomarev's last win was the biggest of his career, a split decision over fellow unbeaten fighter Brad Solomon on the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley undercard in April.
I am not convinced Ponomarev is a future world champion, but he should be a relevant fighter at the top of a competitive division over the next few years.
6. Antonio Orozco
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Like Konstantin Ponomarev, Antonio Orozco is an undefeated fighter on the cusp of becoming a top contender—but he needs a signature win to reach that level.
He does have some good victories on his ledger. He defeated Emmanuel Taylor in May 2015 and a faded, former world champion in Humberto Soto five months later.
Orozco also needs to settle on a true weight class. He has technically fought almost every bout of his career in the welterweight division, coming in above the 140-pound, super lightweight limit, but he has consistently been at 142.
He needs to decide whether he is a super lightweight and start making weight or become a true welterweight and work on filling out to a legitimate 147.
5. Jesse Hart
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Jesse Hart is second-generation boxing royalty in Philadelphia, one of the world's top boxing cities. His father is Eugene "Cyclone" Hart, an exciting middleweight contender from the 1970s.
At 20-0 with 16 stoppages, the younger Hart has recorded some quality wins at 168 pounds. He knocked out undefeated Mike Jimenez in May 2015 and holds a pair of secondary titles—the North American Boxing Organization and United States Boxing Association belts.
At 27, Hart is due for a move up in quality of competition, though. He has the potential to be a factor at 168 pounds if he can manage to make a big fight in 2017.
4. Callum Smith
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Callum Smith is one of four boxing brothers from Liverpool, England. His older brother, Liam, got knocked out by Saul Alvarez last month on pay-per-view.
At 26, Callum Smith is 21-0 with 16 KOs. He has won a slew of minor titles at 168 pounds, such as the WBC silver belt, the European Union, British Commonwealth and WBC international titles.
He is yet to notch a win over anybody who could be regarded as a true contender, though. By beating competition like Rocky Fielding, Christopher Rebrasse and Norbert Nemesapati, he has established himself as the best UK super middleweight not named James DeGale or George Groves.
But he has to defeat better opponents in 2017 to become a true top name in the 168-pound division.
3. Julian Williams
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If Julian Williams had his way, I have to think the Philadelphia native would have fought one of the super welterweight division's top stars a year ago or more. But J Rock has consistently been on the outside in the high-profile weight class.
Williams is a big 154-pound fighter with technical ability and fight-ending power. He would make a tough matchup for anybody, and so nobody has been anxious to fight him.
He should be in line for a shot at IBF champion Jermall Charlo before the end of 2016, but that fight has yet to be made.
Let's hope it happens, because it will be one of the year's best contests if it does—in a year that has already had some very good fights.
2. Felix Verdejo
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At 23, Felix Verdejo looks poised to become the next great Puerto Rican boxing star. Traditionally that has meant ruling not just the small island nation, but also New York City's famed Madison Square Garden.
In other words, being the biggest Puerto Rican boxing star has always meant being one of the biggest overall stars in the sport.
Verdejo is 5'9" and has a reach of 71.5", so it is realistic to think he could fill out and become a welterweight someday.
For now, though, he needs to confirm himself as a top talent at 135 pounds. At 22-0 with 15 KOs, he has shown terrific athleticism, technical skill and punching power, and he should be ready to face a legitimate world champion in 2017.
1. Anthony Joshua
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The IBF will tell you that Anthony Joshua is the heavyweight champion, but that is a laughable assertion; the IBF belt at heavyweight is currently the least legitimate title in the sport.
The IBF stripped Tyson Fury, the man who beat Wladimir Klitschko, in order to have Vyacheslav Glazkov contend for it against Charles Martin.
Glazkov's record contained a draw he didn't deserve against Malik Scott; a decision he didn't deserve against Steve Cunningham and a legitimate victory over a faded Tomasz Adamek. Martin's record contained nothing worth mentioning.
But Glazkov injured his leg during the fight and Martin received the belt via technical knockout, making him the least-qualified heavyweight belt-holder in history.
Joshua knocked Martin out in Round 2 last April and knocked out undefeated Dominic Breazeale in June. Those are solid wins for a rising contender, but they are not signature wins for a top star.
I am not including Joshua here in order to denigrate him. He is a tremendous talent and the future of the division, at least for the short term. I think his legitimate rise to the top of the division is inevitable.
I am simply anxious to see him make the climb.
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