With the new age of Flyweight and Welterweight fights, there is a rise in the ranks of prominence.
Trying to determine the best up and coming boxers in the world is a tricky task because there are wide styles and skillsets.
At this time, where many legendary boxers like Floyd Mayweather have gone, it’s time to see who is going to rise and fill the massive shoes.
We need to look at what the future is holding.
And before we jump directly into the list, first, we have to go over how the list was created.
First of all, the popularity of boxers counts a lot. How well they are doing on TV, in online discussions, and on internet searches.
The next factor is how tough their opponents have been and how bravely they fought with them. It is essential to consider opponents because all of them are not equal.
After that, significant wins are counted. The record of the boxer tells a lot, but it doesn’t show the whole story.
There are some boxers who don’t hold a good record but are one of the great fighters.
And then there is a factor of knockouts.
The list of the most promising boxers includes a number of current champions and boxers who are contenders to claim a belt or two in the near future.
Some of the boxers in our list of best up and coming boxers still hold undefeated records and multiple championship belts.
Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao got huge fame this summer when he earned victory over the highly regarded Keith Thurman.
He is one of the best boxers of 2019 who is 40 years old but looks a lot younger than his age.
Bouncing around the ring, he delivers punches from different angles and has earned one of Thurman’s belts.
Pacquiao is ready to fight anyone in the welterweight division, provided the money is good.
He holds titles of WBA Super Welterweight and WBA World with the record of 62-7-2 in which 39 were knock out wins.
In his 24 years career, he had ruled eight weight divisions beginning his career at flyweight (112lbs), and then he kept on winning titles at every weight up until welterweight (147lbs).
His return to World Champion in 2019 has helped him to earn his spot back among the current elite crop of boxing.
Vasiliy Lomachenko
Vasiliy Lomachenko is an extremely skilled Ukrainian fighter.
He doesn’t fight a ton of professional fights, but still, he is ranked as one of the best up and coming boxers of 2020 because of his incredible amateur career.
When he left the amateur game, his record was 396-1, with only one loss to Albert Selimov.
This double Olympic gold medalist turned professional in 2013.
Lomachenko is the fastest fighter who won a belt in three different divisions of boxing. He is so fast, devastating, and talented that it looks like he is toying with his opponents.
There are many more interesting fights that are in the pipeline for this skilled fighter. Lomachenko has told his fans that he wants a showdown with Mikey Garcia and everyone is eager to see that. He holds a record of 14-1 with 10 KOs. In just 14 fights, the 31 years old has won four of the world titles WBC, WBA, and WBO Lightweight.
Canelo Alvarez
Canelo Alvarez is the winner of the title WBA Super Middleweight with a record of 52-1-2 with 35 KOs.
He is getting better day by day inside the ring and bolder outside. Alvarez is one of the highest-paid athletes in the world.
This marvelous fighter is willing to fluctuate between different divisions to chase the fighters.
After winning the middleweight title, he is now moving to light heavyweight.
Due to the quality of opponents he has beaten, tricks he has added to his fights at just the age of 29, and his ability to take on anyone no matter the division, he is ranked third in our list of best up and coming boxers.
Errol Spence Jr.
Errol Spence Jr. is the former sparring partner of Mayweather. Spencer’s balance, punch volume, and body attacks have made him capable to rule the welterweight division.
With the motivation and struggle, he will soon put his name among the boxing legends.
He has defeated many of his opponents at 147lbs and now he is moving up the weights.
Only KO king Inoue can match the body punching of Spence and his pressure was clearly visible on the show against Kell Brook in Sheffield three years ago.
Further, his boxing skills, strength, and power were praised by many while he was defending his IBF title against ex-lightweight king Mikey Garcia.
He was also the winner of one of the greatest fights in the recent history of boxing, where he competed with another welterweight champ, Crawford.
This fight catapults them up the P4P rankings. Spence has a record of 25-0 in which 21 were KO wins.
Terence Crawford
Holding a record of 35-0 with 26 KOs, Terence Crawford is the best switch-hitter in the history of this game right now.
Being one of the best boxers of 2020, he has the ability to overcome any opponent using his combination punching, which is varied on different levels.
This American fighter possesses a great balance, which helps him to work as a counter-puncher.
He is also an aggressive box-puncher that you can see in his later rounds. Crawford has won world titles including super-lightweight, lightweight and currently he is the WBO Welterweight king with undisputed gold at 140lbs.
With the collection of multiple-weight belts and undeniable boxing skills, he is ranked as one of the great fighters in the world right now.
However, he is yet to face many elite oppositions. The reason for his high ranking is his consecutive victories and achievements.
Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Usyk is not a famous name in the world of boxing and many are not be familiar with his name.
However, sports fans will surely have heard about him. Usyk is the cruiserweight king who won the WBSS, involving all the division’s belts in just 16 fights.
After dominating and unifying the cruiserweight division, Usyk is now taking his talents to the heavyweight where he is hoping to get cracks at Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz Jr., Deontay Wilder, and some others.
This 32-year-old 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist and native of Ukraine is one of the best up and coming boxers 2020 and a real threat who will shake up the premium division of boxing.
Usyk has a record of 16-0, in which 12 are KOs.
He is a no match for anyone at 200lbs because of the consistent punching rate, heavy hands, and nimble footwork. Usyk has fought at heavyweight in the World Series of Boxing using pro rules, but he has yet to be tested against the big hitters of divisions.
Naoya Inoue
Naoya Inoue is the Japanese sensation who is pressurizing his opponents constantly and is explosive due to which he has earned the nickname of ‘The Monster.’
The legit boxing fans haven’t seen much of him; however, he has managed to rank himself as one of the best up and coming boxers.
He earned his first world title in just six fights at the age of 26 years.
He will earn more fame once he starts fighting regularly in the US after making his debut stateside in 2017.
He has a record of 18-0 with 16 KO wins.
Starting his career at 108 lbs., this furious boxer is still unbeaten.
Inoue is a three-weight world champion who has blasted through the light-flyweight and super flyweight ranks and now he is a dominant force at bantamweight.
He is a monstrous puncher who is struggling his way up the division while remaining the most powerful man in the ring.
Gennadiy Golovkin
Gennadiy Golovkin has remarkable punching power for a middleweight making him one of the best at the age of 37.
He has a record of 39-1-1, in which 35 were KOs. His fans are hopeful that he will get a chance to win back the IBF title that was taken by Canelo in this year when he faced Sergiy Derevyanchenko in October.
He can regain his position as a P4P star by a win for the veteran middleweight.
Mikey Garcia
Mikey Garcia is a champion in the Welterweight division and one of the best up and coming boxers.
This March, he took the risk of moving up to welterweight to face Spence but got defeated.
But he gets the credit of competing against the stronger and bigger Spence through all 12 rounds and never going down.
He challenged a four-division champ, which shows not only his courage but also boxing skills. Garcia lost his unbeaten record as well as his place as a P4P contender, but it doesn’t mean that he lacks skills.
His first achievement was gold at featherweight and then this Mexican-American moved to lightweight unification after holding a belt at super feather. Garcia has a record of 39-1 in which 30 fights were KO wins.
Juan Francisco Estrada
Juan Francisco Estrada is also one of the boxers who are not much known. He is the WBC Super Flyweight champ with a record of 40-3 in which 27 were KOs. Estrada is a Mexican who became famous after avenging his defeat to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
He is a two-weight world champion who held the WBC, Lineal Super Flyweight, and Ring Magazine titles since April of 2019. Previously, Estrada held WBO flyweight and WBA (Unified) titles between the years 2012 and 2015.
Conclusion
In the world of boxing, there are many best up and coming boxers of 2020 who have been able to move up and down in weight.
Boxers compete in the weight classes in order to level the playing field between the competitors. If one guy is outweighing another, then it is not called a fair fight.
The purpose of weight divisions is that only fighters of similar size and build compete with each other in the ring.
Boxers are expected to compete in their own weight divisions for the majority of their boxing careers. There are some boxing champions who spend years defending their belts in a single weight class.
At the same time, there are those champions too who are exceptional athletes having the physical ability to move up and down in the weight category.
These champs are capable of competing in multiple divisions due to their skills.
Everyone doesn’t have the ability to do that. It takes specialized skills and athletic capacity to cross divisions efficiently.
For this, a boxer needs to effectively carry along his power as he moves up in weight. While moving up in weight, the opponent also becomes naturally bigger, so one must possess punch resistance too.
Many boxers mentioned in our list of best boxers of 2019 possess this ability.