- Claressa Shields
Sooner or later a professional promoter is going to have to make serious effort to push women’s boxing. If Ronda Rousey can turn women’s UFC into an event, surely boxing can have the same. Shields is the perfect candidate to lead the sport forward in the US. She’s aggressive, powerful, she wants to have a tear-up and fights like a pro. Plus she is America’s first ever two-time Olympic boxing gold medallist. Why not stage Shields versus Savannah Marshall, who remains the only boxer to beat Claressa, a defeat Shields has never avenged?
- Bektemir Melikuziev
Gennady Golovkin has proven that a middleweight from Central Asia can become an international boxing star. Perhaps the next Golovkin will come from Uzbekistan rather than Kazakhstan. The Uzbek team was strong and Melikuziev may not have won gold but he was highly impressive. He has only just turned 20 but he is very strong and aggressive. He like to apply the pressure and throw big shots. Lopez was too clever for him in the final but the Uzbek is only going to improve.
- Robson Conceicao
It’s hard to tell how well Brazilian boxers translate to the pro game. The Falcao brothers have been little seen since London 2012 for instance. But Conceicao has power for a lightweight and is a rough, tough brawler when he needs to be. He is also Brazil’s first ever Olympic boxing gold medallist and won the title on a glorious night in front of a delirious crowd. He could open up a new market to the sport.
- Arlen Lopez
Perhaps he would face the problem that’s afflicted so many Cubans, drawing a crowd. But Lopez exemplifies the appeal of the middleweights – combining the agility and skill of the lighter men with real power. Lopez came through to win gold in one the toughest divisions at Rio 2016, a slick, composed boxer but also a hurtful puncher.
- Joe Joyce
He missed out on super-heavyweight gold. An Olympic silver, as good as it is, just isn’t the same. Joyce is also 30 years old. However, he’s shown he has a tremendous engine and he will be good over the longer distance. While he may not look the slickest he is immensely effective. He battered down Ivan Dychko, an Olympic and World medallist and Joe has a flair for the dramatic, see his celebratory backflips and capoeira.
- Tony Yoka
An Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal is the jackpot. Many felt Tony Yoka didn’t deserve to win the final, but be that as it may, the result stands. Yoka is the Olympic champion, only 24 years old, one half of the ‘Golden Couple’ – his wife-to-be Estelle Mossely won lightweight gold at Rio 2016 as well. That is almost the definition of marketability, as headlines all over France will attest.
- Joshua Buatsi
Knockouts are hard to come by at an Olympic Games. That’s because the bouts are so even and the gloves more protective. So when Joshua Buatsi hammered several top ranked opponents on his route to an Olympic bronze medal with a concentrated ferocity and the kind of style that would adapt well to professional boxing, promoters should have sat up and taken note.
- Robeisy Ramirez
Ramirez is simply an outstanding boxer. He is a two-time, two-weight Olympic medallist, that puts him alongside Mario Kindelan and Guillermo Rigondeaux, he’s done all this and he’s only 22. If he won a third Olympic gold medal that would make him a legend. But if he turns pro, he could be the Cuban to draw crowds in the professional sport. It’s not just that he’s skilful, he’s an aggressive, strong puncher too.
- Shakur Stevenson
America’s stars are ageing. Andre Ward is no spring chicken, Floyd Mayweather has retired. Shakur is young, only 19, he reached the Olympic final and once there he was competitive with the outstanding Robeisy Ramirez. His upside potential is huge, he could be marketed as the face of American boxing in the future. He does have ability, but he’ll need maturity as well for the burdens that will placed on him. The fate of Ricardo Williams is perhaps a cautionary tale. He was an Olympic silver medallist for the USA, hailed as a future star but someone who ultimately lost his way.
- Michael Conlan
It might be a surprise to have someone who not only didn’t win a gold medal but didn’t medal at all at the top of this list. But Ireland’s Conlan is in a unique position. He was a contender for the gold, the reigning World champion has medalled at almost every conceivable tournament in the run up to this. His expletive laden tirade lambasting the judges, Olympic boxing authorities and more made him something of a cult hero, a rebel with a cause so to speak. He’s got the talent, he can fight going forward or off the back foot, he’s marketable, personable and imagine the super-fights he could have – against say Stevenson, Ramirez or even Carl Frampton down the line.
