It feels like we might be on the cusp of a pretty decent wee era here. Rank these in terms of upside potential Efe Ajagba Tony Yoka Philip Hrgovic Murat Gassiev Jared Anderson David Adeleye Bakhoor Jalonov Others?
I try to make a point NOT to follow the heavyweights, so the only guy I've seen on that list is Ajagba, who is powerful but very flawed.
I've said for about a year now that Makhmudov, Hrgovic and Majidov are the best prospects right now. But that's quite sad, given their ages and that none of them are anything great. My view of heavyweights is similar to Xplosive's. I don't follow them, sure I'll watch the big fights as they happen but I don't dig deep into their records. I think it's mainly because I hate Wilder, Fury and Joshua with a passion. I just can't get excited about a division where I want everybody near the top to get KTFO'd.
I quite like Fury, AJ (& Whyte) as personalities, myself. Albeit Wilder a strong contender for cringiest chode in history. Personally, i see way more potential in all the guys i listed than makhmudov or majidov but ive been wrong before
Gassiev lost a shutout against Usyk st cruiserweight and thus I can't see him becoming championship material among heavyweights either. I still maintain my take that heavyweights are underrated based on how they look as opposed to noticing their capabilities. Worn, torn and tired Derek Chisora, who never was close to being a top-5 contender in a supposedly weak era, gave Usyk (a legit p4per) all he could handle
That's been a problem with the heavyweight division for some time now. It's pretty sad when "prospects" are pushing thirty or already on the wrong side of it.
True but otoh Gassiev has almost no amateur experience and is young so he might improve...but i agree he's arguably the least promising there. And fwiw Arreola claims he's the hardest hitter he ever met
I dont see Gassiev going anywhere at hw. yoka and afegba have a bit of potential, but are still immensely flawed. They're young though, so they might improve. Haven't seen the others
Aye Gassiev is probably the weakest inclusion....bit of bias on my part, i just really like him so i'll be following his progress, albeit more in hope than expectation
I can't believe people don't think Gassiev has potential at HW. I think if he gets himself back in shape, he'll obligate guys like Yoka and Ajagba.
He might beat them (and probably does so now), and turned out to always be better than both of them. But they have more upside. I just can't see Gassiev, with his style, beating the giants of the division
Hrgovic is the one I expect the most out of. Not sold on him just yet, but I could see him being the best of that bunch. Not sure