Future Champions Aplenty

By Frank Warren

FRIDAY NIGHT AT York Hall illustrated very clearly that we are well stocked with future champions for many years to come.

I was very happy with what I saw and the performances bode so well for what we have got to look forward to and, in some instances, big championship fights are firmly on the horizon already.

I will come to the bill-toppers in a bit, but first I would like to salute the display of our little snapping Piranha, Ryan Garner. I was thrilled for Ryan because it wasn't so long ago that he was reflecting on the fact that his name was on everyone's lips due to his teenage exploits in the ring.

Various circumstances - some self-inflicted - conspired against him and he did, at some points, appear to be drifting into obscurity. Credit to him, he has really knuckled down over the last year or two and has added serious application to the talent he obviously possesses.

He has shown us all, at the ripe old age of 25 now, that he has lost nothing in terms of ability and now his time has come. We have stuck by Ryan during his sticky spells and now, finally, we can promptly push him forward towards the titles he now richly deserves to be fighting for.

I cannot wait to start planning his pathway to the top and he has definitely got people talking again.

Another young fella going places quickly is our explosive cruiserweight Aloys Jr. He has got all the makings of a genuine star and he added another knockout victory to his tally on Friday.

Aloys looks like he has got the complete package. He is charismatic, a good talker and he can certainly fight. He is the sort of boxer the public gets behind in numbers and, if he sticks at it and keeps up the good work, he will soon be hunting down big titles.

I must also mention Sean Noakes, who is supposed to be the more patient and calculated out of the Noakes brothers, but he showed us that he too can bring the fire and brimstone to the ring and his 42 second demolition of the usually stubborn Robin Zamora really put a marker down.

The headliners also delivered the thrills and you can add the name of Ellis Zorro to the leading British cruiserweight contenders after his spectacular knockout of Hosea Burton.

Ellis's two fights since teaming up with Queensberry have both been barnstormers and showed us what he is all about. Dec Spelman and Burton are tough, tough operators and at no time did Ellis have it all his own way. What he did prove in both is that he can dig deep and knows how to close a show.

A weight down, Willy Hutchinson has put his name in the light heavyweight frame following his brutal stoppage of the respected Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna. Willy has rediscovered his spark and I wouldn't have any hesitation over putting him in with the likes of Dan Azeez and the other big players at 175lbs.

Willy is still a young man at 24, while all the current top dogs at light heavy are 30-plus, so his time is definitely coming and he is another who, after a couple of bumps, is now starting to realise his early potential.

With the likes of Willy, Ryan, Aloys and also Karol Itauma all now on the up, there are so many exciting nights and fights to look forward to and it once again shows the huge depth in our pool of top young talents.