Who are the best young and unbeaten heavyweights on the way up, the guys who will look to win the belts when the likes of Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz, and Anthony Joshua have all gone? One name that quickly springs to mind is Jared Anderson of Toledo, Ohio, the 23-year-old who is currently 12-0(12). Another name a fan may think of here is Daniel Dubois, who has bounced back well from his loss to Joe Joyce and is, as his trainer Shane McGuigan says, very highly ranked with the WBA.
But according to Tyson Fury, another British fighter, prospect David Adeleye, currently 10-0(9), is the man to “take over the division.”
Fury, who spoke on BT Sport’s Chatterbox Podcast, said he has sparred plenty with the 26-year-old and he has told him to his face he can be the man to take over the heavyweight division.
“David Adeleye is the future of the division,” Fury said. “I told him the other night in the changing rooms, ‘you’ve got to believe in yourself, Dave, because you’re going to take over the division. He’s great at sparring. He’s very, very good at sparring. If he was no good to me, then I wouldn’t bring him into my training camps. But he gives excellent work, so I keep bringing him in ever since the second Wilder fight. He keeps learning, keeps listening, and he can be the next Lancaster Bomber for sure.”
Adeleye of London is 6’5”, and he has shown both speed and power in his young pro career. Having gone pro in Dec of 2019 Adeleye has yet to be extended beyond the sixth round (with tricky journeyman Kamil Sokolowski managing to take Adeleye the full six rounds in April of last year). Managed by Frank Warren, Adeleye is coming off an impressive second-round KO over Elvis Garcia, who he took out in style on November 11.
As with any young fighter, it’s far too early to predict how far Adeleye can go, yet Adeleye is certainly an exciting and talented young heavyweight to keep a firm eye on. Adeleye is currently working with Fury, along with Alen Babic and Jermain Franklin, this as Fury gets ready for his trilogy fight with Derek Chisora.
