Jason Langendorf: Defining a boxing prospect is definitely an eye-of-the-beholder bit of business, but selecting a midseason prospect of the year is doubly difficult. Are we only considering fighters whom we expect to be prospects at the end of 2025? Does their progress this year, specifically, matter more than their entire body of work? And are we to project their activity, quality of competition and performance over the next six months – or just stick to what we’ve seen over the year’s first half?
I’m gonna keep it simple: As excited as I am about the futures of Moses Itauma, Cain Sandoval and Tenshin Nasukawa, my 2025 midseason Prospect of the Year is Curmel Moton. At 19, the lightweight prodigy is now 8-0 (6 KOs) and already has a couple of blowout wins in scheduled eight-rounders this year. His skills, technique and demeanor scream total package, and we should see Moton in against a veteran gatekeeper by the end of 2026 – at which time we’ll have some real proof whether he’s the future superstar he seems.
Jake Donovan: Tough category this year, given the general inactivity for most of the best choices. The line continues to get blurred between prospect and contender to where the standout choice(s) usually evolve into the latter before the end of the year. I really don’t see a standout choice at this point – and none who will likely have enjoyed a better year than one of the Grand Prix of Boxing winners by that point.
Owen Lewis: He’s no secret, but Abdullah Mason continues to impress. Think getting decked a couple times by Yohan Vasquez would deter him from his violent, action-first tendencies in the ring? Think again: the powerful lightweight has fought three times this year and recorded three stoppage wins. He’s progressing fast, now fighting over a scheduled 10 rounds, and told me last month that he wants a title shot soon. I can’t wait to watch him once he gets it.
Tris Dixon: Let’s go for Matchroom’s Tiah May Hayton. There seems to be a lot of excitement about her journey. She’s only had one pro fight, and impressed in that, so let’s see how she gets on through the rest of 2025. I’d expect her to be 5-0 by year’s end.
Lucas Ketelle: I don’t know what a prospect is anymore. Some see it as a fighter not ranked in the top 15 of the sanctioning bodies, and some see it as a fighter one fight away from the title. The up-and-comer making the biggest leap in 2025 is Jahi Tucker, with wins over Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson and Troy Williamson. Is he a prospect? I’m not sure.
If Tucker doesn’t fit the bill, then I will give the nod to Michael Angeletti, a bantamweight who just got a big win over Eros Correa on ProBox TV. Keep close watch on junior welterweight Cain Sandoval, too, another viable candidate for the award.
Others who have impressed this year are welterweight Joel Iriarte, power-punching super middleweight Moreno Fendero and Tenshin Nasukawa, the fast-tracked bantamweight best known for fighting Floyd Mayweather Jnr in an exhibition bout – he’s made a solid jump in competition. Also worth a mention: 25-year-old light heavyweight Najee Lopez, who could inject some youth into an aging 175lbs division. Lastly, Troy Nash Jnr is one of the favorites to win the WBC featherweight Grand Prix and is showing a lot of promise in that as well.
Elliot Worsell: I’ll go for 20-year-old Moses Itauma. Not only is he beating gatekeepers the way a prospect should beat gatekeepers, but the fact he is a heavyweight makes him extra special. He also comes along at an interesting time, with the Usyk/Fury/Joshua/Wilder era about to end.
Declan Warrington: Moses Itauma. He has not only convincingly passed every test he’s been asked to take, he’s improving, and he’s both physically and – particularly – psychologically developed considerably beyond his 20 years. Even beyond recognising I particularly enjoy watching fighters who consistently beat opponents who are physically bigger than them, he appears capable of proving to have it all.
Ryan Songalia: Let me throw an unconventional one out there: Dwyke Flemmings Jnr. He isn’t going to get a lot of attention out there because he’s not signed with a major promotion, plus he’s from Paterson, New Jersey, and I think there’s some sort of federal law banning paying attention to NJ boxers before they become world champions. Flemmings Jnr is 11-0 (10 KOs), 21 years old, and has a laser jab that can take him around the world. This junior middleweight prospect is coming off a first round KO of Demian Fernandez on June 21 at Prudential Center, and before that, he went the six-round distance for the first time, shutting out Florent Dervis on the Tank Davis-Lamont Roach Jnr undercard in March.
Tom Ivers: Moses Itauma is the first name that springs to mind. He did exactly what he was supposed to do against Mike Ballogun in May and is jumping in with his hardest test yet in Dillian Whyte next. I expect him to deal with Whyte in a similar fashion and then the stabilizers are well and truly off. I expect to see him boxing for world titles next year and can’t see why he won’t be winning them.
