Boxing Noise has a look at Heavyweight's who have youth on their side.

10- Jermaine Franklin

Record: 20-0 (13 by KO)

KO %: 65

Age: 26

Height: 6’2” (188cm)

Nationality: American

Jermaine Franklin might be an unknown to most people, but the 989 Assassin has put together a decent string of wins in America. Although he’s not consistently the heaviest hitter, Franklin can still whack. His power was on display in his last fight against Pavel Šour when he dropped the 37-year-old with a solid counter right in the 6th.





Despite the promising resume, Franklin was very fortunate to be awarded a split decision victory against Jerry Forrest in 2019. Franklin doesn’t have the best footwork and tends to lunge in at times leaving himself open. Of all the prospects on this list, Franklin isn’t the most likely to become a world champion but will probably become a solid gatekeeper a la Chisora.

9- Ivan Dychko

Record: 9-0 (9 by KO)

KO %: 100

Age: 29

Height: 6’9” (206cm)

Nationality: Kazakhstani

If the name Ivan Dychko sounds slightly familiar to you, it might be because the Kazakhstani lost to Anthony Joshua in the 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight boxing semi-finals in London. The fight was very closely contested and in fact, many viewers actually thought Dychko actually deserved the nod in that fight.





Despite his 100% knockout rate after 9 fights, Dychko is more than a knockout artist and is actually a very talented and technical fighter. For a man of 6’9” his footwork is very impressive, and his use of head movement makes him a very hard target to nail. In the pros, Dychko has been able to use his size very effectively and time his opponents with big right hands as they come in.





The main issue for Dychko is that at 29 years of age, his level of opposition has still been quite poor and for this reason, his knockout percentage is a bit deceptive. Unfortunately for Dychko, moving up in level so slowly at almost 30 years of age may mean he never quite gets a chance to reach the top of the division.

8- Vladyslav Sirenko

Record:13-0 (12 by KO)

KO %: 93

Age: 25

Height: 6’3” (192cm)

Nationality: Ukrainian

Vladyslav Sirenko is an incredibly exciting up and coming heavyweight. Sirenko is a tremendous inside fighter and tends to fire off rapid powerful combinations from close range. Sirenko breaks the mould of recent Ukrainian fighters as thus far he has been a strictly come forward aggressive brawler.





As he steps up in level it is likely that stylistically Sirenko will have to make adjustments as his opponents have all looked very static and lacked quality footwork or head movement. If Sirenko takes the right steps forward and continues to improve there’s no reason why we won't see the Kiev native challenge for a world title within the next decade.

7- Petar Milas

Record: 15-0 (11 by KO)

KO %: 73

Age: 24

Height: 6’5” (194cm)

Nationality: Croatian

Although it’s still early days in his career, Peter Milas looks to be an incredibly talented prospect and the real deal. Milas is very technically sound and carries very good power on top of his skill. Once the 25-year-old has his opponent hurt he goes after them with relentless combinations until they are either knocked down or finished.





At 25, Milas doesn’t have any solid names on his resume yet but has plenty of time as he still looks to be improving from fight to fight. In Croatia, Milas is considered to be their second-best prospect after the 10-0 27-year-old Filip Hrgovic. If both fighters continue along the same path, in the future we could see a huge all-Croatian clash for a heavyweight belt.

6- Hughie Fury

Record: 24-3 (14 by KO)

KO %: 52

Age: 25

Height: 6’6” (198cm)

Nationality: British

Hughie Fury has often been unfairly criticised for some dull performances over the years. Despite his record, the fighter is still only 25 and has a huge amount of developing to do before he fulfils his potential. At such a young age, Fury has already fought the likes of Joseph Parker, Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin.

Against Parker, Hughie narrowly lost out on matching Muhammad Ali’s record of winning a world title at just 22 years of age. In the end, Parker won by majority decision and Fury has continued fighting top-level opponents in search of another title shot. Fury has great footwork and one of the best defences in the division. If he can add more power and aggression to his arsenal, it shouldn’t be too long until we see him get another title shot.

5- Efe Ajagba

Record: 13-0 (11 by KO)

KO %: 85

Age: 25

Height: 6’6” (198cm)

Nationality: Nigerian

Efe Ajagba is an incredibly exciting Nigerian heavyweight who carries incredible knockout power. On top of Ajagba’s towering height, he has an incredible reach of 85” (216cm), which can only be matched at the top level by Tyson Fury. Despite having only taken up boxing at 17, Ajagba still managed to have a successful amateur career, winning a bronze medal in the 2014 Commonwealth games and a gold medal in the 2015 African games.





Although truly an incredible specimen, Ajagba must learn to fight with a bit more patience when stepping up in level. In 2019 Ajagba was floored by Iago Kiladze in the third round of their fight. Ajagba appeared to have Kiladze hurt but got complacent when coming in for the finish and was sent to the canvas. Despite the knockdown, Ajagba regained his composure and was able to win the fight by knockout in the 5th round.





If he improves his defence Ajagba will go far in the heavyweight division. He has been gifted all the physical tools to become a top heavyweight and with the right training, the Nigerian is destined to be a champion.

4- Tony Yoka

Record:7-0 (6 by KO)

KO %: 86

Age: 27

Height: 6’7” (201 cm)

Nationality: French

According to former opponent Dave Allen, Tony Yoka hits harder than anyone he has been in the right against, including sparring. Considering Allen has fought Luis Ortiz, Dillian Whyte and sparred Anthony Joshua, that is a huge compliment. The Olympic gold medallist has a very decent resume for only being 7 fights in. Having already faced Allen and Alexander Dimitrenko, Yoka was rumoured to be facing Christian Hammer next but such plans are likely to be scuppered by the coronavirus.





Unfortunately, Yoka’s career should have developed much further by now but the Frenchman had to sit out for a year after he was suspended in 2018 by the French Boxing Federation for missing 3 drug tests. At 27, Yoka still has time to challenge for world titles and by all accounts, he has the ability too.

3- Filip Hrgovic

Record: 10-0 (8 by KO)

KO %: 80

Age :27

Height: 6’6” (198cm)

Nationality: Croatian

For a long time now, Filip Hrgovic has been tipped to be the next big thing in heavyweight boxing. Hrgovic finally stepped up a level in 2019 with a third-round stoppage over Eric Molina but in truth, the Croatian looks ready for a much tougher challenge. In recent years, people have begun comparing Hrgovic’s style to a legendary heavyweight champion’s.





Hrgovic isn’t a particularly fluid boxer like Fury or an overtly aggressive one like Wilder. Instead, the tall Croatian can be quite conservative and uses his height and reach to jab and control his opponents before landing a crushing right hand when the opportunity arises. For this reason, many compare him to Wladimir Klitschko and if the comparison is accurate, Hrgovic is likely to become a heavyweight champion over the next ten years.

2- Daniel Dubois

Record: 14-0 (13 by KO)

KO %: 93

Age: 22

Height: 6’5” (196cm)

Nationality: British

Triple D is starting to gain world attention for his incredible knockout power. Dubois’ latest knockout in the second round against Kyotaro Fujimoto was yet another vicious finish in what is becoming a career of highlight-reel knockouts. His most impressive win to date was his 5th round stoppage over 16-0 Nathan Gorman.





Many had favoured the cousin of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to outbox Dubois, but the London man’s jab controlled the fight and allowed him to set up a brutal right hand. Dubois' next fight is a huge clash with fellow countryman Joe ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce. If Dubois can defeat Joyce when the bout finally takes place, we could see the 22-year-old fight for a world title within the following 18 months.

1- Joseph Parker

Record: 27-2

KO %: 72

Age: 28

Height: 6’4” (193cm)

Nationality: New Zealander

Joseph has proven himself to be the best heavyweight by far under the age of 30. Parker defeated Andy Ruiz Jr to win the WBO heavyweight title back in 2016 and also scored an MD victory over Hughie Fury to defend his belt. In 2018 Parker suffered back to back unanimous decision losses to both Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, losing his world title to the former.

Despite the defeats, Parker showed great boxing ability and almost knocked Whyte out late in their fight. Had a fall from a clash of heads not been incorrectly scored as a Whyte knockdown, the fight may have been scored in Parker’s favour. Regardless, at just 28 years of age, Parker still has a huge career ahead of him and it will be surprising if he doesn’t win another world title along the way.