10 INTERNATIONAL PROSPECTS TO WATCH IN 2024
Image source: Showtime Boxing
Having already given you our 10 British and Irish prospects to keep an eye on in 2024, now it’s time for us to select 10 international prospects to follow over the next 12 months.
Nikita Tszyu: Super-Welterweight
The son of the great Kostya, and brother of the current WBO 154lbs world champion Tim, Nikita has started his career in the professional ranks flawlessly.
His toughest test came in his last fight, in November, when he stopped Dylan Biggs for the Australian super-welterweight title to take his record to 8-0, with 8 KOs, but he did have to climb off the canvas in round one.
Tough, gritty, powerful and more than game, at just 25 he is still a baby in the sport but expect him to kick on in 2024 and look to claim at least a world ranking by the end of the year.
Daniel Blancas: Super-Middleweight
David Benavidez’s main sparring partner, Blancas is starting to turn heads Stateside as he looks to emulate the success of his good pal.
Standing at 6’3” and still only 22, he’s a daunting figure and tends to use that height to his advantage with a busy and long jab, which usually casts a shadow over his opponent’s face.
His management will likely be patient with him this year but expect him to feature on Benavidez’s undercards and then potentially find himself in a title fight of sorts at some point in the next 12 months.
Bader Samreen: Lightweight
Jordan isn’t renowned for producing professional boxers. In fact, there are just three currently active from the country as of today.
The best of those, by a distance, is lightweight prospect Bader Samreen.
Fighting out of Dubai, the 23-year-old is widely regarded as one of, if not THEE, best prospect based in the UAE.
A thinking fighter who has power in both hands, he has fought mainly at lightweight throughout his career so far, and with eight KOs from his unbeaten 10-fight run in the paid ranks so far, this is a young man that you really need to keep an eye out for.
Herbert Conceicao Sousa: Super-Middleweight
The fourth name on our list is a name you may well be familiar with.
A fantastic amateur, Conceicao produced one of the knockouts of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when he produced a punch from the gods to stop Oleksandr Khyzhniak and claim Olympic gold.
Since then, he’s gone to 5-0 and picked up 3 KOs in the process, with his best win coming against the durable Robert Talarek who he stopped inside two rounds.
He’s still young but looks like a fighter who is now more than ready to kick on, and hopefully we will see him in a good 50/50 fight at some point this year.
Curmel Moton: Featherweight
An 18-time national amateur champion, Moton burst onto the scene when making his professional debut aged just 17 back in September.
On that occasion, he secured a first-round KO and subsequently repeated the feat in his second outing as a professional, against Hunter Turbyfill in November.
A young man mentored by the great Floyd Mayweather, the world really is his oyster, and the fact the undefeated legend of the sport was willing to put him in with WBA world champion Leigh Wood on his debut tells you that this is a fighter with serious potential.
Oshae Jones: Welterweight
A talented amateur who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, she hasn’t looked back after turning professional in 2022.
Sister to Otha Jones III, she is a tricky southpaw who is already learning to sit down on her shots and that showed last time out when she picked up the first stoppage of her career against Samantha Pill.
Managed by Brian Cohen, expect her to get a big opportunity at world level during 2024.
Elijah Garcia: Middleweight
Now this is a fighter everyone should be getting excited about.
At 20, he has already worked his way to 16-0 with 13 wins coming by way of stoppage.
A southpaw who can switch-hit, Garcia has shown already he has the ability to adapt by fighting off the back foot, but also sitting in the pocket and trading on the inside.
With Garcia ranked in the top five of three of the governing bodies, he’s almost certain to get a world title shot this year and if he does, expect him to grab the opportunity with both hands.
Don’t forget his age too, this kid could really be something quite special.
Yoenis Tellez: Super-Welterweight
There is nothing quite like a Cuban who takes to professional boxing like a duck to water, and that’s exactly what Yoenis Tellez has done.
A ferocious puncher, he’s picked up six stoppages from his first seven fights in the paid ranks and secured a knockout-of-the-year contender in his last fight against fellow countryman Livan Navarro.
Signed by Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions, he’s going to get the platform he deserves on DAZN and with a top 10 ranking in the WBA, he may well be knocking on the door for world honours at the end of the year, depending on what Jermell Charlo does with the belts.
Floyd Schofield Jr: Lightweight
Another youngster who’s starting to make plenty of noise, 21-year-old Floyd Schofield Jr is a fighter who is poised for a massive 12 months.
In a stacked division, with the likes of Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Vasyl Lomachenko still very much active, he is undoubtedly one of the lesser-known contenders at 135lbs.
A slick boxer who is elusive on the front and back foot, and has already shown he can certainly bang, this young man is highly thought of by Golden Boy and he could find himself right in the mix at the top of the division come 2025.
Like Garcia, he is young, and with his strength still to improve, don’t be surprised to see him move up the weight divisions quickly and potentially end up near 154lbs.
Beatriz Ferreira: Lightweight
A two-time World Championship gold medalist, as well as a Tokyo 2020 runner-up, the Brazilian star received plenty of hype when she turned professional at the end of 2022 - and it’s been a brilliant 13 months.
With four wins to her name, including two stoppages, Ferreira has already shown she has the chin and engine to be a real star, and with Katie Taylor seemingly now campaigning at 140lbs, the world titles will become vacant and she may well set up an all-Brazilian world title fight with Rose Volante.
Let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be a bad fight to headline Matchroom Boxing’s first show in Brazil.