Junior Younan, on a three-fight knockout streak, is yearning for an opportunity.
The 22-0-1 (14 KOs) super middleweight Younan, ranked seventh by the WBA, is hoping to take a big jump in class this year, with an eliminator being his goal at 168lbs.
“Everyone who is in front of me,” Younan told BoxingScene, “I am just looking for an opportunity.”
Younan was once the talk of the town. He signed with Roc Nation Sports in March 2015. He fought on high-profile Andre Ward undercards. At 21 years old, he fought Ronald Ellis to a draw on “ShoBox: The New Generation” card. Younan still believes he won the fight, but after that, opportunities were sparse. Roc Nation slowly became less focused on boxing, and his path in the sport changed from rising up-and-comer to afterthought.
“It is a weird position,” Younan said. “I feel like I should be getting the opportunities.”
Younan, now 30 and from Brooklyn, New York, has spent the past three years holding training camp at the Triple Threat Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He trains with Sherif Younan Snr as they self-fund their training camps with help from sponsors.
“I am out here sacrificing away from my friends, away from my family,” Younan said. “I have spent more time in Colorado the last three years than I have been at home.”
The list of names ahead of Younan in the WBA rankings makes ominous reading – Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Bektemir Melikuziev, Jermall Charlo, Hamzah Sheeraz, Darius Fulghum and Caleb Plant – but he nonetheless would like his chances against any of them. And that’s all he needs: a chance.
“I am in camp right now, and I don’t have a fight date,” Younan said. “I am just making sure I am ready.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
