For professional martial arts projects, 25 years old is a watershed, many people have achieved the best balance of body, technology and experience after the age of 25, but more people choose to give up after the age of 25 because of personal growth or various factors in life.
However, there are also some boxers who belong to the "young and successful", and have already added gold belts or become well-known celebrities before the age of 25. For example, Tyson became the youngest heavyweight world champion of all time at the age of 20, and Bo qiu became the K-1 MAX world champion at the age of 24.
In fact, many legendary boxers have emerged in the world ring at a young age, and today, we will take stock of the young boxers who are 25 years old and under in international competitions around the world.
This inventory includes traditional professional martial arts such as MMA, kickboxing, Muay Thai and other traditional professional martial arts, and only the players who have clearly signed up for international competitions are counted. Chinese boxers in domestic competitions, we will open a separate inventory in the future.
This inventory is in no particular order, in alphabetical order.
Aaron Pico (Aaron Pico)
Age: 24 years old
Nationality: United States
Tournament: Bellator
Record: 7 wins, 3 losses
Aaron was already an excellent wrestler in college, winning the National Championship in 3 wrestling events. He also ranked second in the U.S. Olympic Trials, qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics at the age of 19, and he is also the first athlete in the United States to qualify for the Olympic Free Wrestling Competition at the age of 20 in nearly 40 years.
After moving to the professional MMA, Aaron has achieved a record of 3 consecutive wins at Bellator, and it is precisely because of his Olympic-level wrestling level and the age of only 24 years old that he has unlimited potential.
Angela Lee (Lee Seung-joo)
Nationality: Singapore
Event: ONE Championship
Record: 10 wins, 2 losses
Yes, Li Shengzhu, who is more familiar to Chinese boxing fans, is only 24 years old. Back in 2016, at the age of 20, she defeated Miko Yamaguchi to win the WOMEN's Championship of the ONE Championship and the youngest MMA World Champion in the ONE Championship.
When Li Shengzhu first entered the ONE Championship, he played a wave of 9 consecutive wins, of which only 2 games were decided, and the rest were over. Such a high finishing percentage is very rare in women's competitions. The first defeat of Li Shengzhu's career was brought to her by Xiong Jingnan, the Chinese champion of the ONE Championship. However, last year she won the second battle with Xiong Jingnan.
Brendan Allen
Age: 25 years old
Tournament: UFC
Record: 15 wins, 4 losses
Allen began training in jiu-jitsu at the age of 13 and is currently a black belt in jiu-jitsu.
He won the Legacy Fighting Alliance championship before joining the UFC and currently has 19 MMA matches. He entered the UFC with a one-legged performance in the White Dana Challenge and quickly played a three-game winning streak. His opponents included Kevin Holland and Tom Brith.
Christian Lee (Lee Sung-lung)
Age: 22 years old
Record: 14 wins, 3 losses
Li Shenglong is the younger brother of Li Shengzhu, the siblings are also ONE Champions, and at the age of 22, he has received a gold belt. In 2019, Lee Katsu-ryu won the ONE Championship Lightweight Championship in the form of KO from the Japanese god of stalemate "Jumping Ten Dan" Aoki Makoto, becoming the youngest men's champion in the ONE Championship. His sister, on the other hand, holds the record of the youngest woman to win the WOMEN's Championship in the ONE Championship.
What is even more terrifying about Li Shenglong is his termination rate, in the 14 winning games, there are 9 KO, 4 surrenders, only one judgment, the end rate reached more than 90%. And the age of 22 makes him full of infinite possibilities.
Edmen Shahbazyan (Edmun Shabazan)
Age: 23 years old
Record: 11 wins, 1 loss
At the age of 9, he began accepting Shabazam as an American player of Armenian origin, and after entering the professional arena at the age of 20, he played a staggering 11 consecutive wins, and the first 7 games were all won in the form of TKO. Similarly, he entered the UFC with a TKO opponent in the White Dana Challenge and won four consecutive wins in two years.
This year, he was defeated by veteran Derek Brunson TKO, his only defeat and is currently ranked 11th in the UFC in the welterweight.
Hiramoto Ren
Nationality: Japan
Tournament: Rizin
Record: 11 wins, 4 losses
Hiramoto began competing in amateur fighting events in Japan at the age of 12, and by the age of 16 he had a total of 14 wins and 2 losses. After moving to the professional arena, he went straight into the K-1 arena and scored 11 wins and 4 losses. One of the defeats was defeated by Wei Rui in the 2017 K-1 WGP championship eight-man battle, but also finished runner-up.
After being defeated by Wei Rui, Hiramoto remained undefeated and KO the former world number one, Kao Philtex. In 2019, Hiramoto signed for Rizin, a 22-year-old who doesn't play very often, but he and Nasugawa Tenshin are both the future of the Japanese fighting world.
Joshua Pacio
Nationality: Filipino
Record: 17 wins, 3 losses
As a member of the strongest Sanda-style MMA team, Lycra, Joshua is also the youngest ONE Championship winner on the team. He began to enter the MMA ring at the age of 17, showing his fighting talent with a record of 9 consecutive wins. In his second match at the ONE Championship, he defeated the Thai wrestling champion Consix, known as the "Dreamcatcher", in one round.
In September 2018, 22-year-old Joshua beat Japan's Akira Naito to win the ONE Championship. After losing the first defensive battle by way of judgment, he gave his opponent a KO in 2019 to regain the golden belt and currently maintains a continuous defensive posture. Joshua is also the only remaining champion of the current Laika team, and it is also the hope of Laika, a team that is mainly based on the style of Sanda.
Jimmy Crute (Jimmy Crud)
Nationality: Australian
Record: 12 wins, 1 loss
Like many of the players on this list, Jimmy began fighting training at an early age, but his resume is even richer. He began practicing karate at the age of 4, judo at the age of 8, Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 11, and MMA training at the age of 12. After entering the MMA, he won the Hex Fight Series Light Heavyweight Championship and defended his title twice.
He has lost only one game so far, being brought down by famed veteran Misha Sinkunov in 2019. It is currently ranked 13th in the UFC Lightweight Class.
Mumbo
Nationality: Chinese
Record: 14 wins, 8 losses
In fact, it is difficult to imagine that Meng Bo is only 24 years old, because she can be said to be one of the earliest female MMA boxers who became famous, she entered the professional arena in 2013, Zhang Weili and Lin Heqin's MMA first defeat was by Meng Bo's hands, and meng Bo even got 12 consecutive wins at the peak, which shows Meng Bo's status in the Chinese women's MMA arena at that time.
In his debut at the ONE Championship, against the Argentine "gladiator" Laura Baring, who had never been KO, Mumbo reached the KO with his bare hands in just 2 minutes and 18 seconds. And Meng Bo's goal is also the active champion Li Shengzhu.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon
Nationality: Thai
Record: 265 wins, 42 losses and 10 draws
Rotang is definitely the most experienced player on this list, and it is hard to imagine that at the age of 23, he has more than 300 matches, thanks to Thailand's unique fighting tradition. Rotang began training at the age of 7, took the stage at the age of 10, and won the Omni boxing championship at the age of 21. And his battle against the japanese RISE talent Nasugawa Tenshin was even more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
After signing for the ONE Championship, he won the Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship in a year and currently maintains a record of total victory in the ONE Championship.
Song Yadong
Record: 16 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw
Although Song Yadong had good results before entering the UFC, he was not so dazzling compared to many players in this list. However, after he entered the UFC, he repeatedly showed his amazing strength. At present, he maintains an unbeaten record of 5 wins and 1 draw in the UFC, and reaches 13th place in the highest ranking of Song Yadong in the weltweight.
Born in 1997, Song Yadong is now one of the most dazzling young players in the UFC and is seen by many as the closest to becoming the next Chinese UFC champion. As the ranking gradually rises, Song Yadong's opponents are getting stronger and stronger, and he is also improving himself in more difficult competitions, and it can be said that he is also one of the most noteworthy young players in the UFC.
Stamp Fairtex
Kickboxing/Muay Thai record: 63 wins, 17 losses and 5 draws
MMA record: 5 wins and 0 losses
It's not uncommon to stand up against MMA double-line fighters, but only a handful of boxers can get a gold belt in both events. As a Thai female boxer, Stamp is the first player in the history of one championship to win both MMA and kickboxing. In April of this year, she was also named the world's second strongest female flyweight boxer by the WBC Muay Thai organization.
After entering the ONE Championship in 2018, Stamp began to fight on two fronts, and the current MMA record maintains a total of 5 wins, which undoubtedly created the history of MMA in Thailand. In the field of kickboxing, she lost all two matches, and her energy will always be limited, and perhaps in the future she will mainly fight in the MMA field.
Sumdalki
Record: 13 wins, 4 losses
Before entering the UFC, "Tibetan Eagle" Sumudalji was already the champion of the Chinese tournament organization Wulin Cage, and in the 11 victories against him in the Wulin Cage, all of them ended the opponent. After entering the UFC, Sumudalki lost his debut, but then he found his feelings in The Second World War. The flexible playing style controlled the veteran Andre to win a crucial victory.
Not long ago, Sumidalki koed Gordon in just 44 seconds at the UFC, which also tied the UFC flyweight third fast-ending record. With these two highly ornamental victories, Sumdalki is bound to get more attention and expectations.
Tenshin Nasukawa (Nasugawa Tenshin)
Event: Rise
Kickboxing/Muay Thai pro record: 39 wins and 0 losses
MMA career record: 4 wins and 0 losses
Kickboxing amateur record: 99 wins, 5 losses and 3 draws
When it comes to the world's top young boxers, it is certainly impossible to ignore the existence of those who were once called "prodigies". And Nasugawa Tenshin is the representative of martial arts genius. Since the age of 10, Nasugawa Tenshin has been in the ring of Japanese amateur fighting events, and in five years, he has played hundreds of amateur fighting matches, losing only 4 of them.
At the age of 16, Nasugawa Tenshin entered the ring of the professional event RISE, and has maintained a record of 39 victories in standing fighting so far. He also played in 4 professional MMA matches, all of which were also won. Nasugawa Tenshin is also seen as the future of The Japanese martial arts world, so Rizin asked Mayweather to play a boxing rules exhibition match with him at a high price. However, at present, Nasugawa Tenshin only fights in the two major tournaments of Rise and Rizin, which inevitably limits his development, and hopes not to bury such a fighting genius.
Umar Nurmagomedov (Umar Nurmagmedov)
Nationality: Russian
Record: 12 wins, 0 losses
Another boxer with a winning record, Umar was the winner of the 2016 World MMA Championship (WMMAA) in his amateur era, and Umal has not lost a single match from the amateur era to the professional era. In addition, he also has an aura that is Kitty's cousin.
In 2019 he won the GFC title, and he signed for the UFC, but has not yet participated in the competition due to illness. The most recent tournament will kick off in January 2021, when he will further test his strength.
Zhang Chenglong
Record: 50 wins, 11 losses, 2 draws and 1 resultless
Zhang Chenglong was once known as China's most promising pure Muay Thai boxer, he went to Thailand to train and compete at a very young age, and while he was famous in the fiercely competitive Thai boxing ring, he also laid a solid foundation for himself in Muay Thai boxing.
After returning to China, Zhang Chenglong not only shined in the domestic arena, but also climbed into the ring of GLORY and won the 4-person competition. After signing the ONE championship, Zhang Chenglong played another wave of 3 consecutive wins, which also allowed him to quickly obtain the right to challenge the golden belt. But unfortunately, Zhang Chenglong lost his hand with the golden belt because he was knocked down to read the seconds once. But as the future star of China's standing fighting, Zhang Chenglong still has a lot of time and opportunities, and the gold belt is not far away.