SONAHR: February 7, 2016 – For boxing fans, this new year has gotten off to a rather slow start. But the tempo will pick up later this month, with a title-unification showdown in the junior-featherweight division between undefeated Britons Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton, a match that is likely to sell out the Manchester Arena. Coming contests of interest include the Tyson Fury-Wladimir Klitschko rematch (provided that promotional squabbling doesn?t scuttle it); Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley III (which is said to be Pacquiao?s finale); and Saul (Canelo) Alvarez-Amir Khan, a meeting between two fighters who are veterans and young guns at the same time.
With the fading and/or retirement of such longtime icons as Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Bernard Hopkins, and the ascent of new superstars like Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and Terence Crawford, the upper echelons of the sport are in flux, and there?s plenty of opportunity for newcomers to make their mark. Here are five young guns who could make big breakthroughs in 2016.
Anthony Joshua, heavyweight This gold-medal winner at the 2012 Olympics is perfect as a pro, sporting a 15-0 mark with 15 KOs. Coming off a win over Dillian Whyte, who was his nemesis in the amateurs, Joshua is now listed in the lower half of most Top-10 rankings. His career arc is similar to that of WBC champion Deontay Wilder, who was a bronze medalist in the 2008 Olympics. Since Fury?s upset of Klitschko, the major heavyweight titles are splintering, with a new IBF champion (Charles Martin) here and a WBA ?interim? champ (Luis Ortiz) there. With the titles tangled like a ball of yarn, Joshua could snag a shot at a world championship before the end of this year. Will he be ready for it? If he turns out to be Britain?s equivalent to Wilder, the answer will be a resounding ?Yes.?
Errol Spence, Jr., welterweight Welterweight is one of the deepest divisions in boxing, with crowd-pleasing warriors like Kell Brook, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia poised to pick up where Pacquiao, Mayweather and Bradley have left off. This is a tough roster to crack. However, Errol Spence Jr. is poised to make some noise. Although gifted with speed, power, and a strong work ethic, Spence would still go in as an underdog against most of the welterweights ranked above him. But he would be a ?live? underdog, and an upset wouldn?t be beyond the bounds of possibility.
Andrzej Fonfara, light-heavyweight This Polish warrior is a better fighter than his record (29-3, with 16 KOs) would suggest. He first made his mark two years ago, when he came off the canvas to floor Adonis Stevenson en route to losing a decision to the WBC champion. Fonfara followed up by destroying the over-hyped Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and then outpointing solid contender Nathan Cleverly. He?s looking for a rematch with Stevenson. For some reason, Fonfara?s name is seldom mentioned as an opponent for the other light-heavyweight champion, the formidable Sergey Kovalev. It should be. Fonfara may not be the most powerful puncher in his division, but his combination of grit and skill could provide Kovalev with his sternest test yet.
Oleksandr Usyk, cruiserweight With only eight pro contests (all KO wins) under his belt, this Ukrainian power-puncher has already bludgeoned his way into the Top 10 of the 200-pounders. He is following in the footsteps of fellow Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko, making a rapid ? and thus far seamless ? transition from a storied amateur career. However, like Spence, Usyk is campaigning in a talent-laden division, with proven warriors like Grigory Drozd, Denis Lebedev and Krzysztof Glowacki waiting to check his chin. Since Germany and Eastern Europe are cruiserweight country, Usyk should secure a title shot before long.
Callum Smith, super-middleweight In the wake of the retirement of Carl Froch and the abandonment of the division by Andre Ward, the 168-pound class is wide-open, with plenty of talented fighters vying for the titles Froch and Ward left behind. Smith, a member of a family of slugging siblings, is right in the middle of the mix. A shopworn Arthur Abraham holds the WBO title, fellow-Briton James DeGale is the IBF king, Badou Jack is WBC champion, and Fedor Chudinov holds the WBA strap. Smith would be at least even-money against any of those fighters. A local war with DeGale is his best bet for a title bout.
There are more than a few other up-and-comers out there, and another writer could easily have come up with a list of five completely different names. At the end of the year, we?ll see who punches through to the next level, and who falls short.
