By James Slater: The formidable and mighty Klitschko brothers will not be around forever, and soon enough a new star will be needed to front boxing’s glamour division. Everyone is looking for the next big thing at heavyweight, be it fans in America, the U.K, elsewhere in Europe or in other countries.
It’s fair to say that right now, there is no single name that is collectively on the lips of fans and/or experts. There are, however, some young, interesting and talented heavyweights on the rise. So far, no one fighter has demanded our attention and excited us to the point of making us think we have seen the next dominant champ, but this could change soon.
But who are the most promising of the up-and-coming big men currently working their way to the top?
Here, in this article – and in no particular order of merit – I list four young (and one not so young) heavyweights who may or may not go on to hold the crown in the future:
1: Luis Ortiz. A 32-year-old former amateur standout from Cuba, now living in Hollywood, Florida. Ortiz, 13-0(11) is a gifted southpaw who has made noise with crushing KO wins over reasonable opposition such as Bert Cooper (TKO2), the rarely-stopped Zack Page (TKO8) and sometimes dangerous puncher Luis Andres Pineda ((KO6).
Looked after by Henry Rivalta, the young-looking 32-year-old reportedly trains whilst having photos of the two Klitschko placed firmly in view. Ortiz, it has also been reported, is literally begging his team to step him up into title level as soon as possible.
Most recent fight: WRTD7 Aaron Lyons, Aug. 2011.
2: Seth Mitchell. A 29-year-old all-round athlete from Maryland, Mitchell is currently 23-0-1(17) and he is being looked at by some as America’s most promising young heavy. Set to take a step up in his HBO debut, against the rock-solid Timur Ibragimov in December, “Mayhem” has already earned attention with wins over capable journeymen such as Zack Page (WU8), Taurus Sykes (KO5) and Evans Quinn (KO1).
Well conditioned and possessing good punching power, Mitchell has a number of fans referring to him as a future champion.
Most recent fight: WTKO3 Hector Ferreyro, Sept. 2011.
3: Magomed Abdusamalov. A 30-year-old Russian who was another fine amateur. Abdusamalov, 11-0(11) is the latest fighter in the stable of Sampson Lewkowicz to have gained attention. Fans are starting to invest interest in the Russian southpaw, largely due to the punch-power he has been displaying. An amazing ten 1st-round KO’s to his pro name, the other stoppage win coming in round-two, “Mago” can definitely crack at a certain level.
Friends with world middleweight king Sergio Gabriel Martinez, Abdusamalov lives in Oxnard, California himself.
Most recent fight: WKO1 Masataka Takehara, Oct. 2011.
4: Mariusz Wach. A 31-year-old giant from Poland, Wach, who now lives in New Jersey, has been steadily notching up a decent list of pro victories. A fine amateur, “The Viking” currently sports an unblemished 25-0(13) pro ledger. Capable of scoring scary-looking KO’s (see his KO over Christian Hammer) and of going the full 10-rounds if he has to, Wach has some fans convinced he is big enough and strong enough to do some serious damage as he continues his rise through the ranks.
Wach faces a stern test in his next fight, when he will go in with former Champ Oliver McCall; he of the granite chin and the never-off-his-feet claim to fame.
Most recent fight: WKO4 Kevin McBride, Jul. 2011.
5: Amir Mansour. At age 39, there is no way the 15-0(11) Mansour can be referred to as a young heavyweight, therefore some fans may object to him being on this list. But the defensively-gifted southpaw who can also bang has never taken any punishment in his pro career and he prides himself on his conditioning and immaculate physique.
After serving almost ten years in jail back in 2001 to 2010, Mansour, from Delaware, returned to the ring last August and has since won six straight. Very possibly a fighter who will prove to be the wildcard of the division, Mansour has reportedly been almost begging for a recognisable name to fight.
Most recent fight: WU10 Dominick Guinn, Aug. 2011.