The Future of Boxing

I think everyone would agree that at the moment boxing is booming particularly in Britain with Anthony Joshua becoming the new poster boy of boxing. However a sport is only as good as the talent coming through, and luckily for boxing the future is looking very bright. So in this post I will be looking at some of these young talents.

Anthony Fowler

After having a stunning amateur career culminating in him winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, he also captained team GB at the Rio Olympics but he had a hard draw and lost in the first round.

He made his professional debut on the undercard of Brook Spence at Bramall Lane. He’s made a great start to his career in the pros with a record of 4-0 with 3 knockouts.

He’s got a number of attributes that should take him far in the professional ranks:

• Jab: Most fighters have got a good jab but they often use it as a punch to set up something else. Fowler uses it as a power shot.
• Hand Speed: He has got incredible hand speed which means that he can land shots that his opponents don’t see coming.
• Body Shots and Combinations: if you watch him fight you will often see him throw a shot to the head and then pound away to the body which will often get his opponent out of there because body shots are more debilitating then any head shot.
• Power: With every shot he lands you can hear the thud ring around the arena. So when he hits an opponent they know they’ve been hit.

I know he’s still got a lot to learn but if I had one criticism of his boxing style at the moment it’s that he tends to load up too much looking for the knockout, which means that he can get court on the counter but I’m sure with Dave Coldwell in his corner he will fix these small problems going forward.

Lawrence Okolie

He also had an impressive amateur career including representing team GB at the Rio Olympics. He made his professional debut at the Manchester Arena in March and scored a 1st round knockout. He now has a record of 5-0 with 4 knockouts.

He’s also got a number of attributes that will help him go forward in his career:

Foot movement: He has got very good foot movement he’s always on his toes and he is able to move in and out of range well.

• Shot Selection: He may not land all his shots but he does seem to throw the right shot a the right time.
• Hand Speed: When he starts to let his hands go, his hands speed is incredible.
• Power: He may not have knocked out all his opponents, but he’s put them all on the floor with some very powerful shots.

He’s still got a lot to learn but he will get better the more he fights

Felix Cash

Another hot prospect to watch in the coming years is Felix Cash, he’s made a great start to his career with a record of 6-0 with 4 knockouts. He hasn’t turned professional with as much fanfare as some of the other boxers so you may not be as aware of him.

Here are just some of the things he can do well for you to keep an eye on:

• Cutting Off The Ring: He does a good job of walking his opponents down which makes the ring very Small. This means that his opponent has to work for every minute of every round.
• Punch Volume: He throws a lot of punches in a fight, which means that he is able to ware his opponents down to get the stoppage or catch the eye of the judges.
• Combinations: He’s got the art of throwing punches in bunches he lands a number of combinations which stops his opponent from getting their shots off.
• Good Defence: He keeps a nice high guard so he can catch a lot of punches on his gloves.

If I have one criticism of Cash it’s that he can get caught a bit square on which means that sometimes he gets caught with shots that he doesn’t need to take.

Josh Kelly

Josh Kelly is another fighter who is just starting his professional journey after representing team GB in Rio, he’s got a record of 4-0 with 3 knockouts

Here are just some of his skills for you to watch out for:

• Movement: Because he holds his hands low he’s always moving around the ring. He’s also very good at slipping shots and making his opponent miss.
• Hand Speed: He’s got very fast hands when he lets his hands go their almost a blur.
• Reflexes: The way he fights means that he has to rely a lot on his reflexes. His fighting style reminds me a lot of Prince Naseem Hamed.

I know it’s very early in his career but he does have a tendency to switch off in fights and pose and showboat, which can lead him open to getting caught with shots. As he moves up that could be a problem but I’m sure with Adam Booth in his corner he will continue to improve.

These are just a few of the fighters that I think could be the future of boxing, but please comment below and let me know who would make your list.