BoxingScene’s top prospect of 2025 is Carlos Utria, 14-0 (11 KOs).
Utria, a 22-year-old from Soplaviento, Colombia, was probably on no one’s bingo card at the beginning of the year to win this award. Utria won five fights this year in the WBC Grand Prix junior welterweight tournament, defeating three unbeaten fighters: Elianel Guerrero (whom he stopped), Spencer Wilcox, and Mujibillo Tursunov in the finals. He also picked up a first-round TKO win over Ntethelelo Nkosi in the semifinals.
Utria, a power-puncher who has good reflexes, did not lose a round until his final bout with Tursunov. Tursunov, from Uzbekistan, is a fighter with a deep amateur pedigree, which made Utria’s victory all the more impressive.
Utria’s success speaks to what the WBC Grand Prix is doing, giving a platform to showcase talent that might go unnoticed and give them a higher stature in the sport.
Honorable Mentions:
The other WBC Grand Prix winners….
Brandon Mosqueda, 13-0 (10 KOs) – The winner of the featherweight tournament, Mosqueda is a Mexican pressure fighter who shows the poise of being a true contender, given his performance in the tournament.
Kevin Ramirez, 12-0-2 (4 KOs) – A cruiserweight competing in the heavyweight tournament, Ramirez outboxed all of his opponents. Ramirez showed an ability to stick to a gameplan and the maturity to win his bouts tactically.
Dylan Biggs, 18-1 (9 KOs) – Biggs won the middleweight tournament but was the winner that flew the most under the radar.
Other top up-and-comers:
Albert Gonzalez, 15-0 (8 KOs) – “Chop Chop” has all the tools to become a notable featherweight. He has good boxing ability, a great team headed by Robert Garcia, a compelling story, and is able to shine in interviews. That tends to be a formula for a next-level talent. Gonzalez had three wins this year, with his last being ta fourth-round stoppage of Leonardo Baez.
Jhon Orobio, 16-0 (14 KOs) – Orobio is a Colombian puncher who fights at junior welterweight. Orobio’s second-round stoppage of durable veteran Xolisani Ndongeni capped off a year that saw him win four fights.
Joshua Pagan, 14-0 (5 KOs) – Pagan, a lightweight promoted by Salita Promotions, won three fights in 2025. Most notably, he earned a stoppage win over Maliek Montgomery
Tomoya Tsuboi, 3-0 (2 KOs) - In Tsuboi’s third fight, he essentially jumped into the deep end, beating Carlos Cuadras. Cuadras might be an older fighter, but the Japanese flyweight still stopped him.
Yuta Sakai, 6-0 (6 KOs) - A 20-year-old Japanese bantamweight who has a promising future for the best era of boxing in Japan. Sakai could be a name you hear about in the title mix as early as late 2026.
Amari Jones, 15-0 (13 KOs) – A promising middleweight who recently signed with Golden Boy Promotions. Jones is the type of fighter who could be in the title picture a year from now, especially given how barren the division is. He is exciting and talented.
Jahi Tucker, 15-1-1 (6 KOs) – Tucker has taken quite a path to this point. He lost to Nicklaus Flaz in 2023 at a lower weight class, and had a draw against Francisco Daniel Veron that same year. Since moving up to middleweight, though, some of his notable wins are over former prospects such as Quilisto “Kilo the Kid” Madera, Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson, Quincy LaVallais, and Troy Williamson.
Giorgio Visioli, 10-0 (6 KOs) - Unbeaten in 10 professional fights, Visioli already looks the part of a contender more than a prospect. Having main-evented his first 10-round bout, Visioli, a slick southpaw, should have a big 2026.
Cain Sandoval, 17-0 (15 KOs) – A bit of a lateral move in 2025 for Sandoval, but the aggressive junior welterweight is still extremely promising and someone who should shine when he gets into 50-50 type matchups. Sandoval is sure to be a fan-favorite; he has a style similar to David Benavidez at a lower weight class.
Young standouts ready to make noise:
Troy Nash Jnr, 5-0-1 (1 KO) - The unsung hero of the WBC Grand Prix tournament. Nash lost in the quarterfinals due to the “enhanced scoring” system used in the tournament’ Though he was unable to continue in the event, he still holds an unbeaten record. Of all the fighters from the United States, Nash stood out the most.
Dominic Valle, 12-0 (7 KOs) - The lightweight recorded two wins in 2025, with the most notable being a last-minute replacement victory over former titleholder Rene Alvarado.
Darrelle Valsaint, 13-0 (11 KOs) – “Blast” is a versatile up-and-comer in the junior middleweight division who has all the tools to challenge for a belt. The 2020 Haitian Olympian, Valsaint fought only twice this year, which slowed some of his momentum.
Emilio Garcia, 3-0 (3 KOs) – Way too early to win this award, but Garcia is a good person to keep an eye on heading into 2026.
ICYMI: Other BoxingScene 2025 year-end award winners
Still to come…
Upset of the year
Promoter of the year
Disappointment of the year
