5 African boxers to look out for in 2026
Christian Mbili
Christian Mbili is coming off a strong 2025 campaign, where he secured a win and a split draw result in two fights. His draw with Lester Martinez was one of the best fights of the year, with both fighters displaying nonstop action.
As the current WBC Interim super middleweight champion, Mbili is in a strong position to contend for the vacant unified title in 2026. After defeating Saul Alvarez, Terrence Crawford relinquished the WBO title a few months later.
Theophilus Allotey
Allotey was undefeated in 2025 with 6 wins and will try to continue his winning streak in 2026. At age 23, Allotey has climbed to the top 15 in the WBO world bantamweight rankings. The masses have high hopes for his future, and one of those hopes is that he will win a world title possibly in the new year.
Sheriff Quaye
Although Quaye began 2025 ranked among the top 10 fighters in the WBO world lightweight rankings, a period of inactivity caused him to fall from the rankings.
If Quaye can manage to get active, then he definitely has the potential to make a comeback and improve his position in the rankings. In his last fight, He claimed a TKO victory against Isaac Dowuona.
Kevin Sadjo
In 2025, 35-year-old Sadjo began the year with two wins and finished with a 2-1 record, as he lost a unanimous decision to David Pacheco in December. As a result of the defeat, he lost his WBC Silver and WBO International super middleweight title.
Despite the loss, Sadjo’s potential should not be underestimated; he remains a knockout artist to watch in 2026.
Emeka Nwokolo
Nwokolo is already among Nigeria’s top super welterweight boxers. He’s currently on an 8-fight winning streak, and he already won the NABA and UBO super welterweight belts.
At the world stage, the super welterweight division is a shark tank, featuring fighters like Xander Zayas, Israil Madrimov, and Jaron Ennis.
However, Nwokolo possesses the abilities necessary to establish himself as a top contender. Nwokolo ended 2025 with two wins in two fights, and plans to challenge for a high-level belt such as a WBO, WBC, WBA, or IBF regional title.