British Boxing is thriving at the moment.
Just a number of months ago, Britain only had one male world champion in Nick Ball (23-1-1, 13ko’s).
Whilst the scouser has now lost his crown, it has been a brilliant start to the year for British fighters at world level.
Dalton Smith (19-0, 14ko’s) kicked the year off with a famous away victory in New York, defeating Subriel Matias (23-2, 22ko’s) to become WBC super-lightweight world champion.
Josh Kelly (18-1-1, 9ko’s) followed that up outpointing Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-1, 17ko’s) to become IBF super-welterweight world champion.
Ellie Scotney (12-0) has put her name in the history becoming undisputed super-bantamweight world champion.
In the ever changing boxing world, it seems much more British talent is on the cusp of world championship greatness.
This article is going to cover 5 British fighters poised to become world champion in the next 12 months.
1. Hamzah Sheeraz
A man that has seemed destined to become world champion in recent years is Hamzah Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18ko’s).
The hard hitting East Londoner come up short in his first world title shot at middleweight against Carlos Adames (25-1-1, 18ko’s).
Now up at super-middleweight, Sheeraz seems a different animal.
On 168lbs debut, the 27 year old demolished Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18ko’s) in New York.
Sheeraz is a Riyadh Season ambassador.
In the aftermath of Terence Crawford’s retirement, the belts become vacant.
On May 23rd in Egypt, Sheeraz faces Alem Begic (29-0-1, 23ko’s) for the WBO super-middleweight title.
With the fight just a month away, could Sheeraz be Britain’s latest world title addition?
2. Viddal Riley
Moving from East London to North London, Tottenham’s very own Viddal Riley (14-0, 7ko’s) is silencing all his critics fight by fight.
A man that was labelled a ‘misfits fighter’ by many, Riley has shown his boxing purity.
The decorated amateur has gone the traditional route in his professional career, capturing English, British and now EBU European cruiserweight titles.
Whilst the 28 year old has had to be patient so far, it seems like the stars are aligning.
Now a flagship fighter of MF Pro, Riley is ranked number two with the IBF, a governing body with a vacant belt after stripping Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23ko’s).
Rumours were circulating about a potential fight with Chris Billiam Smith (21-2, 13ko’s).
However, with CBS now signing for Zuffa Boxing, could Riley take on number five ranked David Nyika (12-1, 10ko’s) for the vacant title.
3. Galal Yafai
After a turbulent 12 months due to extenuating circumstances out of his control, it’s likely to be now or never for Olympic Gold Medalist Galal Yafai (9-0, 7ko’s).
Yafai survived a brutal 12 round fight with Francisco Rodriguez Jr (39-6-1, 27ko’s) last June.
In the aftermath, Rodriguez Jr returned an adverse analytical finding in a VADA test.
The result immediately changed to a no contest.
Whilst Yafai retained his unbeaten record, it’s yet to be seen how much impact this fight has had.
In June, Yafai returns for the first time.
On the undercard of Dalton Smith vs Alberto Puello, Yafai has the opportunity to become unified WBC and WBA flyweight world champion against Ricardo Rafael Sandoval (27-2, 18ko’s) in Sheffield.
4. Adam Azim
Fresh off the news of Richardson Hitchins vacating his IBF super-lightweight world title, promoter Ben Shalom should be doing everything in his power to secure a shot at the vacant title for his flagship fighter.
At just 24, Azim is tipped to be a future world champion.
14 fights in, the man from Slough is just a number of fights away from realising this dream.
It has been a frustrating start to 2026 for Azim.
Due to injury, his fight against Gustavo Lemos (30-2, 20ko’s) was postponed.
If and when Azim is ready to return to the ring, it is likely Ben Shalom will try to position his star with an opportunity to fight in a final eliminator for this vacant title.
Could we see ‘the assassin’ take on Lindolfo Delgado for the IBF crown in the next 12 months?
5. Conor Benn
Whether people believe it’s warranted or not, Conor Benn (25-1, 14ko’s) will likely be facing Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20ko’s) for the WBC welterweight world title next.
The man from Essex is number one with the WBC and mandatory challenger.
‘The Destroyer’s’ last three fights have been at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After recently announcing a multi-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing, Benn will be one of the highest paid fighters in the world.
Whilst securing his kids kids future is of the upmost importance to Benn, there’s one other thing he wants desperately.
That is the WBC world title.
It seems all roads are leading to Garcia-Benn, this August, in Las Vegas.
He’ll likely start the fight as an underdog, but can the Brit record a famous away win, similar to Dalton Smith this January.
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