Boxing guide for a new year: Five fighters to watch in 2025

This past year was full of great fights, upsets and incredible performances that helped raise some fighters' status.

Fighters such as bantamweight Junto Nakatani and cruiserweight Jai Opetaia, who were on the ESPN list of fighters to keep an eye on in 2024, delivered title-winning performances.

The heavyweight division was also on display and gave us two incredible fights between the two best fighters in the weight class -- Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury -- but also helped fighters such as Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker to revive their careers.

Let's take a look at the fighters who can take over in 2025 and make a run for the top spot in their respective divisions (in no particular order).

Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) - Junior middleweight

Spence didn't fight in 2024 and hasn't competed since he was dominated and stopped by Terence Crawford in July 2023.

When he is inside the ring, Spence, a former unified welterweight champion, is one of the sport's best fighters and most reliable attractions. He's slated to finally end this layoff with a jump to 154 pounds.

And as usual, Spence will take on a difficult test with a bout against the 6-foot-5½ Sebastian Fundora -- the WBC and WBO champion -- in March or April as he attempts to win a world title in a second division.

At 34 years old and following the loss to Crawford where he wasn't remotely competitive, there are question marks about how much Spence has left to give. But he has defied the odds before.

He returned from a serious car crash in 2019 to outpoint Danny Garcia in lopsided fashion. And he returned from surgery to repair a detached retina in 2021 to unify titles against Yordenis Ugas.

A win over Fundora coming off a nearly two-year layoff (and another eye procedure) would be Spence's most impressive feat yet.

Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) - WBC junior welterweight champion in recess

Haney endured his most trying year as a pro in 2024. He was knocked down three times by Ryan Garcia in a decision loss last April, a fight Haney was heavily favored to win.

Even though the result was overturned to a no contest after Garcia tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, Haney's performance has left questions surrounding his punch resistance and ability to bounce back.

A rematch with Garcia -- a fight that figures to generate far more business than the first meeting -- is one of the biggest fights that can be made in boxing.

And there are efforts to put that bout together this year. Garcia can return from suspension in April, and it's likely the rematch will take place at 147 pounds after Garcia missed weight by 3.2 pounds the first time.

If Haney can exact revenge, he'll launch himself to a new stratosphere of stardom and should reclaim his place on the pound-for-pound list.

Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) - IBF heavyweight champion

Dubois broke out in 2024, fulfilling his promise as a former top prospect. The 28-year-old Englishman finished 2023 with a career-best win, a 10th-round TKO of Jarrell Miller.

Each performance progressively improved from that point. Dubois defeated fellow ESPN top-10 heavyweight Filip Hrgovic via eighth-round TKO in June to earn a shot at former unified champion Anthony Joshua.

Dubois then shocked the world in September when he scored a spectacular fifth-round KO of Joshua at London's Wembley Stadium. The win launched Dubois to stardom in the U.K., and now that he's the IBF champion, he's in line for a marquee 2025.

Dubois will begin the year with a second title defense against a former champion when he meets Joseph Parker on Feb. 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. If Dubois can push past the resurgent Parker, he'll pursue a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, only this time the undisputed heavyweight championship would be on the line.

If not Usyk, a rematch with Joshua would present another big fight, as would a matchup with former champion Wladimir Klitschko, who has shown interest in coming out of retirement.

Keyshawn Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) - Lightweight

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Keyshawn Davis comes up with brutal 2nd-round KO in homecoming win

Keyshawn Davis knocks out Gustavo Lemos with a series of brutal knockdowns in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.

The 2020 Olympic silver medalist has all the ingredients to become the next American star. That pursuit kicks into high gear on Feb. 14 when Davis challenges for his first world title.

The 26-year-old meets Denys Berinchyk at New York's Theater at Madison Square Garden in an ESPN headliner. Ukraine's Berinchyk was able to neutralize Emanuel Navarrete's dizzying punch output in May when he won the WBO lightweight title.

Davis figures to have his hands full in his toughest test yet as he deals with Berinchyk, who owns an impressive jab and excellent footwork. Davis showed his power in his best win yet, a two-round destruction of Gustavo Lemos in November.

Davis also displayed his growing popularity in that fight as he packed more than 10,000 fans into the Scope Arena for his Norfolk, Virginia, homecoming. With a title win in convincing fashion against Berinchyk, Davis could land some marquee unification fights later in the year.

Oscar Collazo (11-0, 8 KOs) - WBO, WBA strawweight champion

Puerto Rico's best fighter is someone only the most die-hard fans are familiar with, but that could change soon.

Collazo is boxing's smallest men's champion at 105 pounds. He added a second title in November when he scored a career-best victory with a seventh-round TKO of Knockout CP Freshmart to win the WBA belt.

Collazo won the WBO belt -- his first world title -- in just his seventh pro fight, becoming the fastest Puerto Rican ever to become a champion. The 5-foot-2 southpaw won't become an attraction fighting at 105 pounds, but he could do so by rising up the weight classes in the same manner as Naoya Inoue and Manny Pacquiao (both won their first titles at 108 pounds).

The 108-pound weight class doesn't feature any notable fights for Collazo, but at 112, he could travel to Japan for some high-profile title fights. And at 115 pounds, there's Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez.

For now, Collazo is shining a spotlight on both Puerto Rico and boxing's smallest weight class with his knockout power, southpaw boxing ability and tenacity in the ring.