A guide to the new year: Five fighters to watch in 2024

Boxing's pound-for-pound ratio has performed worthy of the name in 2023.

Artur Beterbiev kicked off the campaign by keeping his perfect KO ratio intact with a thrilling TKO defeat of Anthony Yarde to retain three light heavyweight titles.

Three months later, a well-placed body shot from Gervonta Davis stopped Ryan Garcia in the biggest business fight of the year. In July, Naoya Inoue dominated Stephen Fulton in his 122-pound debut and displayed his generational talent, before unifying the titles to become undisputed second division champion with another impressive knockout victory over Marlon Tapales on December 26 .

And Devin Haney won every round and even dropped Regis Prograis to become a two-division champion on December 9.

The best performance of all, of course, belonged to Terence Crawford, who dismantled Errol Spence Jr., in a tour de force to cement welterweight supremacy.

But what about all the fighters who fall just outside of ESPN's top 10 pound-for-pound? Many boxers have a real opportunity to get closer to this recognition in 2024.

Here are five of these boxers who we think will be meeting in 2024 (in no particular order):

Jai Opetaia (24-0, 19 KO) – Cruiserweight

With his quick reflexes, keen punching power and balance, the Australian looks like a special talent.

Opetaia delivered a devastating first-round knockout against Ellis Zorro on December 23 in Saudi Arabia, where he will fight two more times in 2024. That busy fight cost him his IBF title after he was stripped, but Opetaia is ready for the long haul. . more significant achievements in 2024.

The 28-year-old is being held back by fighting in the overlooked cruiserweight division, but his abilities demand the sport takes note. It was all on display when he split Jordan Thompson in September.

Opetaia also possesses proven grit after battling through a broken jaw to defeat Mairis Briedis for the title in 2022. To truly realize his potential, Opetaia will likely have to take the well-trodden path of cruiserweight stars moving up to heavyweight.

Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk (who also beat Briedis in a title fight) are the most successful cruiserweight champions who have reached even greater heights at heavyweight, boxing's glamor division.

Opetaia will be undersized at heavyweight at 6-foot-2, but his talent is likely such that he will be a dangerous play in the unlimited weight class as well.

And with at least two more fights for Opetaia in Saudi Arabia, where organizers are heavily committed to the heavyweight division, Opetaia could make that big jump sooner rather than later.

Junto Nakatani (26-0, 19 KO) – Bantamweight

The Japanese boxer became a two-division champion in May with his brutal knockout of Andrew Moloney. Nakatani's display of power announced his arrival to the American boxing public and earned him ESPN's KO of the Year.

Nakatani is now on the verge of becoming a three-division champion when he meets Alexandro Santiago on February 24 in Tokyo on ESPN+. Santiago won the title by defeating Nonito Donaire in July, but that reign will likely be short-lived.

Nakatani, 25, is slender and knows how to place his shots. He singled out Moloney with his punching combination, then impressed again in his first defense, a victory over Argi Cortes in September.

American fight fans are used to waking up early in the morning to watch Inoue, although it took a while for Inoue to gain momentum in the United States due to timing.

Nakatani isn't on his compatriot's level, sure, but he's also a staple of television, and fans would do well to jump on his bandwagon now.

Subriel Matias (20-1, 20 KO) – IBF junior welterweight champion

Any conversation about must-see fighters must include Puerto Rico's volume machine.

Matias, 31, took another step forward in 2023 with his best campaign yet. He won his first title in February by demolishing Jeremias Ponce in February, and successfully defended it with another thrilling display, a TKO victory over Shohjahon Ergashev in November.

Hopefully 2024 is the year Matias lands the kind of fight where he can really show off his skills. The 140-pound division is stacked, with Haney, Garcia and Teofimo Lopez Jr.

Even if Matias fails to take on one of these stars, there are plenty of other viable junior welterweights who would represent a step up in competition.

Jose Ramirez, Jack Catterall and Richardson Hitchins would all make intriguing fights for Matias, who improves his stock with each subsequent outing.

Tim Tszyu (24-0, 17 KO) – WBO junior middleweight champion

No one had a bigger year than Tszyu, who proved he was more than just a boxer with a famous fighting family name.

The 29-year-old could have waited for Jermell Charlo to recover from hand surgery that postponed his January fight only to watch Charlo fall to Canelo Alvarez. But Tszyu chose to stay busy while Charlo recovered. The decision paid off.

In a sport plagued by inactivity, Tszyu has fought three times in 2023. He stopped Tony Harrison in March, then scored a first-round knockout of Carlos Ocampo over the summer, then dominated Brian Mendoza in October.

Tszyu appeared sharper with each subsequent outing, and his improved ability to string together combinations with a variety of punch flashed in his victory over Mendoza.

Now the champion at 154 pounds, Tszyu said he would fight in the United States in the future. It remains to be seen whether the match with Charlo will come to fruition. What is certain: Tszyu is a dangerous fighter who also has a chance to become a star in the United States.

Jaron 'Boots' Ennis (31-0, 28 KO) – Interim IBF Welterweight Champion