If you're like me — and you are, in every last way — you miss the days when the USA had a legitimate contender for "Best Heavyweight in the World."
I grew up being spoiled in that way — I had Mike Tyson. I love Deontay Wilder and he was very, very close to being the king of the heavyweights when he drew with Tyson Fury in 2018. Between the two, we had guys like Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, and Michael Moorer.
Wilder is still around, but he is 3-4 in his last seven fights, and some of those losses were very one-sided. Jared Anderson and Richard Torrez have also taken turns being the next Great American Hope but both have suffered knockout defeats within the last two years.
So who do we get to be hopeful about for now? To answer this question, I turned to Boxrec and looked at American heavyweight men who are a) undefeated and untied, and b) are under 30-years-old.
Both of my criteria here are arguably a bit harsh. Heavyweights can be competitive well into their 40s, and many boxing greats have had an odd hiccup here or there, especially when they're just starting out. Nonetheless, I think "undefeated and young" is a great place to start.
1) Name: Pryce Taylor
From: Brooklyn
Nickname: Pryce is Right
Age: 29
Record: 13-0, 8 KOs
World Heavyweight Ranking (Boxrec): 53
How good is his record really?
Quite good. He's dropped some rounds here and there, but never enough to make it a close fight on anyone's scorecards. His last fight was a concern, though; he won unanimously, but he lost 2 rounds on two judge's scorecard and 3 on the third against a guy Torrez knocked out in the third round.
Other comments:
He's already been on televised events a couple of times and is clearly the Next Man Up in this category.
2) Name: Damazion Vanhouter
From: St. Pete via Albany
Nickname: Mazi
Age: 21
Record: 12-0, 9 KOs
World Heavyweight Ranking (Boxrec): 74
How good is his record really?
The bad news is, he already has a majority-decision win and a split-decision win. The good news is, the first was his debut pro fight and both them were in Mexico against Mexicans, the latter of whom he knocked down, so perhaps the scoring against him should be taken with a grain of salt.
Other comments:
If I want a dominant American heavyweight champ in the future, it's probably a good sign that the #2 boxrec-ranked undefeated untied U.S. heavyweight is also the youngest on this list (Taylor is about to age out in fact, although mentally I'm grandfathering him in).
3) Name: Joshua Edwards
From: Houston
Nickname: The Rocket
Age: 26
Record: 7-0, 6 KOs
World Heavyweight Ranking (Boxrec): 92
How good is his record really?
The most spotless on this list. He had a third-round KO last November where Boxrec does not list how the judges scored the first two rounds. If he won the them both on all three judge's scorecards, then he's never lost a round on any judge's scorecard in any professional fight, and 5 of the 7 he won by KO.
Other comments:
He's never even fought a guy with a losing record as a pro. He won the gold in the heavyweight division at the last Pan American games and fought at the Paris Olympics (lost in the round of 16). Let's get this guy on TV.
4) Name: Federico Pacheco Jr.
From: Los Angeles
Nickname: None listed on Boxrec
Age: 22
Record: 11-0 8 KOs
World Heavyweight Ranking (Boxrec): #107
How good is his record really?
Pretty good. He's lost some rounds here and there, but no split or majority decision victories.
Other comments:
He won his TV debut last weekend so he's on the radar now. His brother Diego is also undefeated and ranked #4 in the world at Super Middleweight.
5) Name: Ali Feliz
From: Danbury, Connecticut
Nickname: None listed on Boxrec
Age: 22
Record: 7-0, 5 KOs
World Heavyweight Ranking (Boxrec): #129
How good is his record really?
It's good. We are missing more data on him than others, but he possibly lost the first rounds of his career (just one round, on two judge's scorecards) in his most recent fight, in December. However, it was to a guy who is 9-10-2.
Other comments:
He's the only one besides Edwards with his own Wikipedia page, and like Edwards, that's down to his decorated amateur career (2023 U.S. Amateur champion). He signed with Top Rank in 2024, but they seem to be brining him along somewhat slowly (if he's still with them). His brother Fernely would also qualify for this list, but he hasn't fought in over two years for some reason (Boxrec removes boxers from their rankings if they haven't fought in over a year).
6) Name: Nephtali Bravo
From: Tyler, Texas
Nickname: None listed on Boxrec
Age: 24
Record: 11-0, 7 KOs
World Heavyweight Ranking (Boxrec): #178
How good is his record really?
Hard to tell. On Boxrec, he's missing more round-scoring info, by far, than anyone else in this piece.
Other comments:
The most enigmatic guy on this list. His first 7 fights were in the US, but his 4 fights in 2026 have all been in the same venue in Colombia for some reason.
7) Name: Kashaun Davis
From: Pearl, Mississippi
Nickname: Big Baby
Age: 27
Record: 11-0, 11 knockouts
World Heavyweight Ranking (Boxrec): #183
How good is his record really?
Finally, we have found a boxer with nothin' but knockouts on his resume. However, the last 9 of his fights have been against guys with losing records, and he has lost rounds.
Other comments:
Firstly, this means there's at least three American Heavyweight boxers with the nickname "Big Baby." C'mon guys, be original.
While his resume in terms of his ranking and the quality of opponents he has fought has him last on this list, he has a HUUUUUGE chance to make a name for himself this weekend: he makes his TV debut (well, Paramount Plus to be exact) this Sunday on Dana White's Zuffa Boxing card. He'll be fighting a guy from Romania who's 8-0 with 8 KOs, and he's won those matches in several different against guys with very good records. Boxrec's algorithm gives Davis just a 33% chance to win.
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