The United States was once the hotbed of heavyweight boxing.
Almost every single decade in boxing’s glamour division since John L. Sullivan has been dominated by an American fighter.
The 1940s had Joe Louis, the 1950s had Rocky Marciano; there was Muhammad Ali in the 1960s and 1970s, and there was both Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes in the 1980s.
But over the last three decades, heavyweight boxing across the pond has been on a steady decline, with the pendulum shifting away from the States and towards Europe.
The likes of Lennox Lewis, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury, and now Oleksandr Usyk, have all spent lengthy stints at the top of the Ring Magazine rankings, and there doesn’t appear to be a clear end in sight.
Deontay Wilder was the last American heavyweight to hold a version of the world heavyweight championship, but his reign as WBC king came to an unforgiving end at the hands of Fury in 2020.
Since then, America has been shut out of the title picture.
However, not all hope is lost just yet as there is a fresh crop of heavyweight talent waiting in the wings to make their mark.
And here, talkSPORT.com takes a closer look at the next generation of American heavyweight prospects who could end their country’s title drought.
Richard Torrez Jr (12-0, 11KOs)
Richard Torrez Jr enjoyed a successful spell as an amateur, picking up five USA national titles from youth through to senior level before scooping a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Since turning over as a professional, the fleet-footed southpaw has impressed several members of the boxing fraternity with his dexterity and movement.
Torrez Jr has all the ingredients of a future world champion and while some still hold reservations about his promise due to his size (Torrez Jr stands 6ft 2ins and weighs around 235lbs) he has had no trouble dispatching far larger foes thus far, with 11 knockouts from 12 wins.
Stiffer opposition awaits the 25-year-old from Tulare, California but for now, he hasn’t put a foot wrong in the paid ranks.
Joshua Edwards (Amateur)
Transitioning swiftly from America’s former No.1 amateur super heavyweight to the nation’s current best-vested boxer, Joshua Edwards.
Many felt the 24-year-old was unlucky not to win his Round of 16 clash with Italy’s Diego Lenzi at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while he entered the tournament as one of the favourites to receive a medal after winning gold at the Pan American Games in 2023.
It is unclear what his next steps are at present following his Olympic heartbreak.
But, one thing is for sure: his exceptional defence and slick counter-punching lend well to professional boxing.
Ali Feliz (4-0, 3KOs)
Dominican-American dynamo Ali Feliz won gold at the 2023 US Olympic Team Trials but rather than going down the amateur route, he chose to turn over as a professional in March with Top Rank.
Feliz proceeded to win three of his first four fights via knockout in an active inaugural year, and couples destructive combination punching with an engine like a locomotive.
His promoter, Bob Arum, has branded him ‘one of the most gifted young heavyweights to turn pro in quite some time’ and early signs suggest he could be right.
Jared Anderson (17-1, 15KOs)
So fickle is the world of boxing that Jared Anderson – once hailed as ‘the future of the heavyweight division’ – has been written off after falling to the first defeat of his professional career against Martin Bakole in August.
Ironically, Bakole received the same treatment from the boxing community after his own stoppage loss to Michael Hunter in 2018.
Yet now, Bakole is being touted as a ‘world champion in waiting’ while Anderson has been dismissed as ‘just another hype job’.
Only time will tell how far Anderson can go but there is no denying the obvious talent he possesses.
A defeat can be the breaking or making of a fighter.
It can either light a fire under a boxer or scar him for the rest of his career.
Anderson must now choose how he wishes to be remembered.
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