The stunning win reignited British interest in boxing's glamour division and heralded in an era of unprecedented success.

Anthony Joshua would become a two-time unified champion and attract an entirely new demographic to the sport while Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte became significant factors in the division, filling arenas for over a decade.

Time moves on, but whilst giants such as Fury and Joshua are nearing the end of their careers, Britain remains a hotbed of heavyweight talent.

WBO titleholder Fabio Wardley sits proudly at No. 1 in The Ring's heavyweight rankings whilst former IBF champion Daniel Dubois and the exciting Moses Itauma are also jockeying for position inside the top 10.

The conveyor belt shows no signs of slowing down and there are a number of exciting British and Irish prospects taking their formative steps.

The prodigiously talented Itauma leads the pack, but the 21-year-old's rapid progress does risk setting the bar unfairly high for every other young heavyweight prospect.

Building a heavyweight is a long, laborious task and the path to the top rarely runs smoothly. Here's a look at three young fighters still some way from competing for world honors but whose progress will be worth monitoring.

After winning a gold medal at the 2024 World Boxing Under-19 championships, Atang signed a promotional deal with Matchroom and was immediately touted as the man to eventually fill the sizable boots of Joshua.

The initial hype eventually calmed down and the young Yorkshireman has, wisely, been allowed to quietly learn his trade. So far, the returns have been good. Atang has boxed three times and scored three first-round knockouts.

Atang is still only 19 years old and around a decade away from reaching his peak but, physically at least, appears to be the prototypical modern heavyweight.

The Yorkshireman stands 6-foot-6 and generally tips the scales at around 230 pounds. He will get bigger and stronger, but maybe most importantly seems a natural athlete. Atang is fluid, moves smoothly and has good hand speed while appearing to be a natural body puncher.

Every fight is important for someone with a ceiling as high as Atang's, but at this stage they don't all need to lead to something nor carry make-or-break consequences.

For now, the names on Atang's record don’t matter. The onus should be on getting him onto as many shows as possible until the whole fight week and fight day processes become second nature. Every fight, however long it lasts, will teach him something new about the sport and the business.

If all goes to plan, Atang should be ready for a step up in quality towards the end of the year.

Adrian King has more ground to make up than most.

King was just 18 years old when turning professional after just two amateur fights and he has been learning his trade on the small-hall scene.

King does have one early loss on his record but not all defeats carry the same weight. The overwhelming majority of professional fighters do their learning and losing in sports halls and working men's clubs on the amateur circuit. Others find out about themselves in the type of hard international tournaments turning boys into men.

King is having to learn in the professional ring.

Provided he takes them the right way, the lessons he learned from a six-round decision loss to the 8-9 Adam Kolarik in June 2025 will help him far more than a series of facile quick blowouts.

The signs are good. Just two weeks after dropping that decision to Kolarik, he got back to work and stopped the 9-3 Piotr Cwik.

King is still only 21 and has lots to learn but is cramming in his studies. He is a prolific sparrer and has already shared the ring with Tyson Fury, Martin Bakole and Joseph Parker.

The Yorkshireman trains with former British junior welterweight champion and Premier League footballer Curtis Woodhouse, who has total faith his man will eventually reach the very top.

He has been steadily adding bulk to his 6-foot-4 frame and typically tips the scales at around 245 pounds. King can punch and looks visibly more relaxed now than when he first turned professional.

Woodhouse is determined to bring King along slowly but as a young, exciting heavyweight with well-known connections, it is inevitable that he will eventually be given a chance on a major show. Until that happens, King can quietly get on with learning as much as he can.

Earlier this month it was announced that 2024 World Youth champion Olaniyan decided to call time on a trophy-laden amateur career and sign a professional deal with Queensberry.

The 19-year-old from Tallaght in Ireland will move across the Irish Sea to Liverpool where he will train under Paul Stevenson at the busy, successful Everton Red Triangle Gym.

As well as his World Youth gold, Olaniyan accumulated two European gold medals and seven national titles and has joined the paid ranks rather than committing to a long, hard senior amateur career providing invaluable experience but that can take its toll on the body.

Of course, it remains to be seen how Olaniyan will adapt to life as a professional but amateur footage suggests he is capable of taking the initiative and being aggressive but also happy boxing on the back foot and counterpunching, if the situation demands it.

His style will naturally evolve the longer he spends in the gym but his immediate aim will be to get comfortable, his body used to living and training as a professional heavyweight.

Stevenson has made his name working with fighters much further down the weight scale but he is arguably the country's most underrated trainer. The Liverpudlian will accentuate Olaniyan's strengths, he will be mentally and physically strong, while progressing and working alongside another heavyweight hopeful in Boma Brown (5-1, 3 KOs).

On March 14, Olaniyan will return home to Dublin's 3Arena when making his professional debut in-front of his own people as part of the undercard preceding the WBA junior lightweight title fight between Jazza Dickens and Anthony Cacace live on DAZN worldwide.

Ireland is home to some of the world's most passionate boxing fans and if Olaniyan can hit the ground running, a whole nation will almost immediately rally around him.