By Gav Duthie: As 2014 draws to an end I thought I would take a look at an undefeated prospect from each division and study their chances of becoming a world champion in the new year. Many undefeated fighters are heavily protected and sometimes prospects who have suffered loss early and moved on become champions quicker.
It takes a brave fighter and promoter to risk those ‘O’s by pitting them at world level but without that bravery their records mean nothing. Some fighters are better known and further along in their careers than others and which will become champions and when is open for debate.
Bryant Jennings 19-0 (10)
Heavyweight
Title Shot: 90% likely
New Champion: Yes
Having watched both Bermaine Stiverne and Deontay Wilder I fancy the Haitian to retain his title when they finally meet. I think the ring generalship and Sonny Liston type jab that he possesses will confuse Deontay and he will struggle having never fought beyond 4 rounds in his 32 previous contests. I have more hope for American Jennings as he has been the scheduled distance a few times and has a good all round boxing ability. If he faces Stiverne and fights with a workrate like in the second half of the Perez fight then he could decision him to win the WBC title.
Oleksander Usyk 5-0 (5)
Cruiserweight
Title shot: 40% likely
New champion: Not until 2016
There is a lot of buzz around light heavyweight sensation Artur Beterbiev at the moment after he destroyed Tavoris Cloud in 2 rounds. Less will know about Ukrainian Usyk who beat Beterbiev on route to Olympic gold in London 2012 and possesses another amateur win over him before this also. His overall record before he turned professional was a staggering 400-10 and fellow Ukrainian Wlad Klitschko quickly snapped him up for his promotional company K2. He already has a couple of impressive wins but 2015 may be a little to early for a world title shot.
Artur Beterbiev 6-0 (6)
Light Heavyweight
Title shot: 75% likely
New champion: Yes
As aforementioned after his win over Cloud he is already a big name after half a dozen fights. His highest ranking with the governing bodies is #10 with the WBA. Obviously champions Kovalev, Hopkins and Stevenson are out of his reach but regular WBA champ Jurgen Brahmer may be a legitimate target. German Brahmer has been a decent champion but is slowing down aged 36 and I would fancy Beterbiev if they were to fight.
Gilberto Ramirez 29-0 (23)
Super Middleweight
Title Shot: 60% likely
New champion: No
The Mexican is ranked #2 with both the WBC and WBO. These are arguably titles held by the weakest champions. Inexperience from the WBC champ Anthony Dirrell and fading skills from WBO champion Arthur Abraham. Ramirez fighting style is similar to that of Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr. He is tall, rangy but hits well to the body. He is a dangerous fighter but needs a top win for champions to risk fighting him because at the moment he’s not a big name himself.
Chris Eubank Jnr 17-0 (12)
Middleweight
Title Shot: 50/50
New Champion: No
For this one I am really looking at the likely winner between Eubank Jnr and Billy Joe Saunders. Its a tough fight to predict because Eubank seems to have such a low workrate but he is very skillfull. Matt Korobov and Andy Lee are fighting for the WBO title vacated by Peter Quillin. If Korobov wins he would be expected to fight Saunders soon as he is ranked very high by the WBO. If Lee wins he would want a voluntary defence against a British counterpart so the Saunders-Eubank winner would be in prime position. I can’t see Lee winning and I think Eubank is probably too raw for a world title shot.
Sergey Rabchenko 25-0 (18)
Light Middleweight
Title Shot: 70% likely
New Champion: Yes
The standout prospect in this division is one half of the Carlo twins Jermell Charlo 24-0 (11). In saying that I feel he would understandably struggle to beat Demetrius Andrade who he fights in December. Rabchenko may not be quite as good as Charlo but is ranked #1 for a fight with Erislandy Lara and also #3 with the IBF where 41 year old Cornelius Bundrage currently owns the title. Rabchenko is an all action aggressive fighter who is promoted and sometimes trained by Ricky Hatton. He has quite a similar style to ‘The Hitman’ and if he can get over certain stamina issues he could be a champion next year.
Keith Thurman 23-0 (21)
Welterweight
Title shot: 50/50
New Champion: Not until Mayweather retires probably 2016
He should change his alias from ‘One Time’ to ‘One Day’ Thurman. He is getting frustrated at his lack of top level action and is wandering when his chance will come. His highest rating is with the WBA but it is naive to expect Mayweather to be ordered to fight Thurman. In the meantime he should chase fights with other aspiring welterweights like Porter, Khan, Guerrero or Alexander. He needs to be patient but for me he will no doubt be a champion someday.
Viktor Postol 26-0 (11)
Light Welterweight
Title Shot: 75% Likely
New Champion: No
The Ukrainian has gained more exposure for not fighting Danny Garcia in the last few months than anything he has done in the ring. It seems he has stepped aside for now but he is no joke and will be back. He has an impressive win over Hank Lundy and is the first man to knock out Selcuk Aydin with a devestting uppercut in his last fight. Unsurprisingly being from Ukraine he has a similar style to Klitschko with a solid jab.
Richard Commey 18-0 (17)
Lightweight
Title Shot: 30% Likely
New Champion: Still a couple of years off but possible
Many Ghanians have tried to emulate the great Azumah Nelson but Commey actually looks like he could come close. Despite his impressive knockout record he is more of slick back foot boxer. He throws shots from unusual angles and has fast hands. He is being used regularly by British promoters but it will be a while before he is recognised at elite level with his best win coming in his last outing over Gary Buckland.
Adrian Estrella 19-0 (17)
Super Featherweight
Title Shot: 50/50
New Champion: Yes if he gets the chance
He reminds me a bit on the late Edwin Valero. He has good head movement, he doesn’t use the jab much but when he sees an opening he goes for it. His last two fights have went the distance but how slick Panamanian Caballero saw the final bell in Estrella’s last fight I don’t know. He was knocked down 4 times and Estrella just couldn’t find the knockout blow. He is likely to target Japanese WBC champ Takashi Miura next year.
Miguel Marriaga 19-0 (17)
Featherweight
Title Shot: 25% Likely
New Champion: No the division is too strong
Miguel ‘The Scorpion’ Marriaga impressively stopped the durable Chris Martin earlier this month in the 6th round. Little was known of the Columbian before then as he had only fought in his native country and occasionally in Mexico. He seems to be a solid powerful fighter who can also take a shot.
Genesis Sarvania 25-0 (11)
Super Bantamweight
Title Shot: 70% Likely
New Champion: He has talent but the champions are too strong again
The Filipino has good footwork and is a solid counter puncher. He doesn’t have huge power but scored an impressive one punch uppercut knockout over Rafael Concepcion a few fights ago. He looks good but his highest ranking is #2 with the WBO…………the champion is Guillermo Rigondeaux. Good luck beating him.
Ryo Matsumoto 12-0 (10)
Bantamweight
Title Shot: 50/50
New Champion: Not for another couple of years
At 5″8 inches tall Matsumoto is huge for a bantamweight. Only Jamie McDonnell stands similar and has been very successful using this height advantage in big fights. Matsumoto is only 20 years old and has only fought 12 times but the hype comes from knocking out former WBA Flyweight champion Denkaosan Kaovichit in only 2 rounds.
Arthur Villanueva 26-0 (14)
Super Flyweight
Title Shot: 90% Likely
New Champion: Yes
Great hand speed, good counter puncher and pops in and out of range with his foot work. Last time out he just pipped Henry Maldanado to a split decision but it was a very one sided fight. He is another Filipino fighter who is worth a close watch. He is ranked in the top 15 with all four organisations so A title shot is imminent. His best bet is probably South African Zolani Tete 19-3 (16) who is the current IBF champion.
Paipharob Kokietgym 27-0 (20)
Flyweight
Title Shot: 60% Likely
New Champion: Its possible as at this weight titles are passed around the Asian countries quite frequently.
Being honest their is a distinct lack of undefeated fighters in the Straweight division. He is nicknamed ‘King of knockout’ despite a modest record against journeyman opposition. Like many Thai boxers he is heavily protected. He is already 31 and was linked to trafficking Yaba (a madness drug) which stripped him of a low level title he had with the WBA. From the limited footage I have seen he looked ok he is fast and switches between orthodox and southpaw. I don’t see a world champion there though.
Ali Raymi 22-0 (22)
Minimumweight
Title Shot: 25% Likely
New Champion: No chance
His alias is simply ‘God’ and he holds the record for consecutive first round knockouts (21). He is 40 years old and never fought out of his native Yemen. His record looks good but he looks to be in a lot of trouble when he steps up in class as he lacks many basic boxing fundamentals such as a jab. I think its unlikely at his age he will ever really step out of his comfort zone and move up the levels required.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on these prospects over the coming year. As always some will win titles, some will be contenders and some will be vastly overhyped. The fun part is finding out which is which.
Comments are closed.