By Umar ben-Ivan Lee
Many have complained to me recently about the lack of prospects in the sport of boxing. Actually I find this to be quite untrue as we have a new crop of champions and those that are ready to fight for world titles in Samuel Peter, Jeff Lacy, Jermain Taylor, Luis Collazo, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Juan Diaz, Zahir Raheem, Humberto Soto, Rocky Juarez and others.
To complement them we have a new and young generation of fighters. Some are just coming out of the Olympic Class of 2004, some have been pro for a while and others didn’t make the Olympic cut. Here is a look at some of them who I have separated by geographic location.
Brooklyn, NY
Sechew Powell
17-0 (11 KO)
Weight: Junior Middleweight
Powell is a native of Brownsville Brooklyn and has honed his boxer-puncher style at Gleason’s Gym. Frequently fighting in Broadway Boxing shows in New York Powell has built up a following but struggled in 2004 on a Shobox card against Grady Brewer. A rematch with Brewer has been discussed but Powell will next face Archak TerMeliksetian in November.
Dmity Salita
23-0 (14)
Weight: Welterweight
Salita was born on Odessa, Ukraine but moved to Brooklyn at the age of nine as a part of Jewish migration from the former Soviet Union to Israel and the United States. Training out of the Starrett City Gym in Brooklyn Salita is in a very diverse gym that professes to be a “ghetto gym” that teaches “a city and black style” of fighting as trainer Jimmy O‘Pharrow puts it. Since moving to Brooklyn Salita has also become an observant Jew and his motto is “if anyone wants a whuppin from me they’ll have to wait till after sundown” referring to his strict observance to the Jewish rules regulating the Sabbath.
Yuri Foreman
18-0 (7)
Weight:
Junior Middleweight
Foreman, who was born in Belarus, lived in Israel during his teen years and now calls Brooklyn home is a fellow Jewish prospect. He trains out of Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn and has developed a more European style than that of Salita.
Curtis Stevens
Super Middleweight
8-0 (7)
Stevens is a part of the Chin Checkers Express and a native of Brownsville Brooklyn along with Codrington. The two fight regularly on the Broadway Boxing shows and are managed by Chris Gotti of The Inc. and Co-Promoted by Damon Dash.
Jaidon Codrington
9-0 (9)
Super Middleweight
Codrington is a part of the Chin Checkers Express and a native of Queens along with fellow Stevens. The two fight regularly on the Broadway Boxing shows and are managed by Chris Gotti of The Inc and Co-Promoted by Damon Dash.
Joe Greene
5-0 (4)
Super Middleweight
Greene a Brooklyn native was a favorite to make the 2004 US Olympic squad but fell short in the trials. The 19 year old had been considered the best athlete in the NYC Golden Gloves program and displayed tremendous handspeed, power and athletic ability in his conquests.
Bronx, NY
Jorge Teron
Lightweight
Promoter: Cedrick Kushner
5-0 (4)
Teron, a tough Puerto Rican kid from the Bronx, thrilled New York fight fans during his amateur days with his brawling style that will be sure to make him a fan favorite as a pro. Observers have noted that he fights like a refined and well-schooled Arturo Gatti.
Hartford, CT
Chad Dawson
Middleweight
19-0 (13)
Dawson who was a three-sport athlete in high school is a slick southpaw with speed and power and has a style that is very difficult to defeat; just ask Tito Trinidad and Erik Morales.
Philadelphia, PA
Rock Allen
Welterweight
Yet to make his pro debut this relative of Bernard Hopkins is not only a devout Muslim but is devoutly dedicated to his craft. This 2004 Olympian, who has won high praise from the likes of Vernon Forrest, has already signed a promotional deal with Golden Boy Promotions. He is trained by his father Nazeer Richardson.
PG County, MD
Gary Russell Jr.
Bantamweight
Russell is a native of the DC area and the 17 year old is yet to turn pro but is considered the best little man to come out of the American boxing scene in years. He is well-schooled and dedicated and has been gifted with blazing speed.
Washington, DC
Anthony Peterson
13-0 (9)
Along with his brother, who is also managed by the legendary Shelly Finkel these two slick boxers and DC natives have been fighting every month since turning pro last year.
Lamont Peterson
Welterweight
14-0 (6)
Along with his brother, who is also managed by the legendary Shelly Finkel these two slick boxers and DC natives have been fighting every month since turning pro last year.
Cleveland, OH
Juan McPherson
Welterweight
1-0
In 2004 the legendary trainer Emmanuel Steward labeled McPherson the best amateur boxer in the US system. A controversial decision kept him off the Olympic team but since he has turned pro. The Cleveland native who compiled an amateur record of 263-6 is led by a promotional group that includes Frank Warren of England.
Youngstown, OH
Kelly Pavlik
Middleweight
26-0 (23)
Soon Youngstown will be known for more than the mob, crime, corruption and jailed Congressman James Traficant. The city is also home to the hard-hitting Pavlik who sent the boxing world a message with his first round blowout of fellow prospect Damon Beaupierre on Showtime. He is promoted by Top Rank who plans to move him rather quickly.
Flint, MI
Andre Dirrell
Super Middleweight
5-0 (4)
The Flint native was an Olympic bronze medalist in 2004 and is led by longtime trainer Leon Lawson and he boasts blazing handspeed and dazzling combinations.
Anthony Dirrell
Super Middleweight
5-0 (5)
The brother of the Olympian Andre Dirrell he is the brother who boasts slightly more power.
St. Louis, MO
Devon Alexander
Welterweight
5-0 (2)
Devon is a part of a new pack of fighters trained by Kevin Cunningham of St. Louis. He is a slick southpaw and well schooled. The 18 year old is a pure boxer and has spared in the past with Cory Spinks.
Vaughn Alexander
Welterweight
4-0
The brother of Devon, Vaughn is more of a puncher and has thrilled those who have seen him in person. Just ask Miguel Cotto! His only real fight at this point may be in the courtrooms.
Florida
Andre Berto
6-0 (4)
Junior Middleweight
The native of Florida fought for the Haitian Olympic team due to a controversy in the 2004 Olympic trials because of his parent’s Haitian heritage. In the amateurs he fought in the pro style and has made an easy transition.
Puerto Rico
Jonathan Oquendo
Super Bantamweight
6-0 (3)
Oquendo hopes to keep the Boricua tradition of championships alive in the sport of boxing. He is being brought along slowly by Golden Boy Promotions at the age of 21.
California
Andre Ward
Middleweight
5-0 (3)
The Olympic gold medalist in 2004 is being rapidly promoted ala David Reid in 1996 and has already fought on HBO and FSN. Promoted by Goosen-Tudor and Square Ring lets hope he has better results than Reid.
Roberto Guerrero
Featherweight
15-0-1 (8)
The tall and lanky southpaw recently went twelve-rounds for the first time and the “ghost” as he has called has already received a lot of TV exposure in his short career and is being touted as the next “Golden Boy”
Aaron Garcia
Featherweight
2-0
Garcia is a well-pedigreed Mexican-American prodigy out of California and is fighting under the promotion of Oscar De La Hoya.
Abner Mares
Super Bantamweight
2-0 (2)
Mares was jobbed in the 2004 in a bad decision but has since moved on and made a successful pro debut. This comes after just graduating from high school.
Victor Ortiz
Lightweight
8-1 (5)
The teenager is fighting out of Oxnard, CA and is co-trained by Roberto Garcia and managed by Rolando Arellano and the Fernando Vargas team.
Arizona
Jesus Gonzalez
Junior Middleweight
17-0 (11)
Although he was favored to make the 2004 Olympic team he turned pro instead and under Top Rank has had a lot of success. His amateur highlights included a win over Andre Berto.
Ireland
John Duddy
11-0 (10)
Weight: Middleweight
Duddy is a native of the tough Irish city of Derry (it is officially under the control of the Brits who call the city Londonderry) Duddy is a hard-hitter who has already scored seven first-round knockouts in his young career and has built up a fan following among Irish-Americans on the East Coast. He fights out of Queens, NY and boasts one punch knockout power in both hands.
France
Willy Blain
Junior Welterweight
7-0 (1)
This slick French boxer calls himself the Small Leonard and is now fighting out of Germany using a slick American style of boxing.
Britain
Amir Khan
Junior Lightweight
2-0 (1)
Khan is seen by many as the next Prince Naseem but is seen by all as the hottest prospect in Europe and he already has a fan base to rival establish British stars at the age of eighteen.
Russia
Alexander Maletin
Whenever he decides to turn pro the “Russian Tank” known for his viscous body punching will make noise.
Others:
There are several fighters out of the former Soviet Union who could make noise in the years to come as well as people like Andy Lee of Ireland or Danny Williams of St. Louis, MO. Only time will tell.
Notes: From this list we can see super fights of the next era and a lot of these guys seem to be congregated around the middleweight and super middleweight divisions.
Umar ben-Ivan lee may be contacted at keepslugging@hotmail.com
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