Top 8 Most Promising Young Fighters at the Moment

For many years, boxing has served as a mode of entertainment for people. Despite the rise of mixed martial arts in recent years, boxing has still retained its spot as the number one combat sport globally. Some love to enjoy the thrills that come with watching the game, while some yearn to make money from it by placing bets on websites like 888casino. Regardless of why you love boxing, you will always get that exhilarating feeling when you watch a boxing match.

“What does the future of boxing hold?” Some may ask. If you enjoy watching boxing games that feature young fighters, you will be familiar with these names. In no particular order, here is a list of the most promising young fighters across the world at the moment.

Devin “The Dream” Haney (25-0, 15 KOs), WBC Lightweight Champion, age 23
Devin won the interim WBC lightweight belt in 2019 after he knocked out Zaur Abdullaev in the fourth round of that match. A month later, Devin became the full-time champion at age 20, making him one of the youngest world title-holders.

Since then, he has successfully defended his title four times, against Alfredo Santiago, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jorge Linares and then Jo Jo Diaz. Although he has a lot ahead of him to achieve, Devin has shown us that he could become one of the best in the future of boxing.

Jaime Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs), age 25
Jaime has been campaigning for over eight years in the welterweight, light-middleweight, and middleweight divisions.

Munguia got his first title, which was a WBO light-middleweight against Sadam Ali, in 2018. He defended the title in two quick successive matches against Liam Smith, a former title-holder, and Brandan Cook. In 2020, he moved to middleweight, and has been improving under the tutelage of Erik Morales. Recently, he bested rugged vet Gabe Rosado, but no, he hasn't had that step up fight against a solid name, a coin flip fight, in which he prevails.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. (16-0, 16 KOs), age 23

Golden Boy promotion’s very own fighter, Vergil Ortiz, has already shown that he is a great prospect to look out for in the boxing world, and now he's beyond that, it's about time for a big opportunity, risk-reward bout. He's 18-0, with 18 KOs, but his profile has been limited, arguably, by the loss of Canelo from the GBP stable, their profile dimmed, and of course the pandemic. He has some massive fights in front of him.

Shakur Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs), WBO Featherweight Champion, age 24
Ever since his achievement at the 2016 Olympics that earned him a silver medal, Shakur has been on a fast rise to the peak of boxing. He has won a lot of other titles, which include the WBO featherweight title, IBF Intercontinental title, some other regional titles. He has made it look too easy at times, and some fans have chafed, labeling him a bit boring. Part of the problem is that he is skilled, and especially defensively, a notch above foes, so he can coast in fights. No, he'd not be able to do that against Vasiliy Lomachenko.

David Benavidez (16-0, 15 KOs), age 24
David has won the WBC super-weight championship twice. He won it for the first time in 2017 when he fought against Ronald Gavril, and he became the youngest boxer to win the title. After defending the belt once, David lost his title when he tested positive for cocaine consumption.

It took him over a year to recuperate and come back to challenge Anthony Dirrell for the title, and he won yet again. He apologized for the misstep, and has dealt with some weight issues, so people will be focused on whether his mind is ready to take the leap to stardom.

Gervonta “Tank” Davis (24-0, 23 KOs), WBA Regular Lightweight And Super Featherweight Champion, age 27
Gervonta is a little older than everyone else on this list, but he deserves a spot because although he has achieved a lot, he still has a lot to offer. His hunger for accolades has earned him several titles.

Still, the most prominent ones are the regular lightweight title that he got after beating Yuriorkis Gamboa and the super featherweight title he won when he knocked out Leo Santa Cruz. But fans want super fights, so until he meets fellow young guns like Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, and Haney, there will be some who aren't as enthused.

Ryan “Kingry” Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), Interim WBC Lightweight Champion, age 23
Ryan is also another Golden Boy boxer who has won the heart of many, especially the female fans with his charming character. He showed people he wasn't just a pretty face, then had a spate of situations, including romance drama, mental health woes and injuries, so if he's able to focus on in ring matters, we will soon see how he measures up.

Teofimo Lopez Jr. (16-1, 12 KOs), age 24
Lopez is arguably one of the most successful fighters on this list, as he has achieved such an impressive career so far, and from a standpoint of taking risk to attempt to secure reward. He was seen as a cocky kid when he called out Vasiliy Lomachenko, but, in fact, his walk matched his talk. Winning the WBC 135 strap didn't deliver ultimate happiness, though. He got a fat deal from Triller to fight George Kambosos, but that fight didn't get off the runway, and so promoter Matchroom took over and made it. Kambosos, a considerable underdog, took it to Lopez, and won a UD12. Now comes time for the hard work, again, Teofimo again will have to prove to doubters he has the stuff of champions.