Thursday 31 December 2015 14:50, UK
British boxing thrived throughout 2015 and now has 12 world champions - but who will be next to conquer the world?
Billy Joe Saunders became the latest Briton to get his hands on a world title on December 19 - knocking down and outpointing Ireland's Andy Lee for the WBO world middleweight crown.
With Jamie McDonnell, Lee Haskins, Scott Quigg, Carl Frampton, Lee Selby, Anthony Crolla, Terry Flanagan, Kell Brook, Liam Smith, Saunders, James DeGale and (of course) Tyson Fury sitting on the top of the world, there's a large chasing pack hoping to follow them.
But who will make it in 2016?
With brother Liam having already won the WBO super-welterweight world title, brother Paul having challenged for world honours three times and brother Callum tipped as one of British boxing's most promising stars, 'Swifty' is sometimes overlooked when assessing the phenomenon of the Smith brothers.
Having lost just once - a 2011 defeat to now-IBF world featherweight champion Lee Selby, Smith has rebuilt steadily since and won the British title in August 2013 when he halted Gary Buckland. In his last bout, he halted former European champion Devis Boschiero in the sixth.
Rated as the IBF's No 1 challenger to Jose Pedraza (who he is set to face in the spring) and ranked second by the WBC, next year promises much for Smith.
Another fighter looking to emulate a sibling, Gavin is the twin brother of current WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell and has recently vacated the European super-bantamweight crown as he looks to step up to world level in 2016.
With shrewd trainer Dave Coldwell earmarking WBC world champion Julio Ceja as a possible target, McDonnell is in good hands and exhibited improvements in winning and defending his European belt against Oleksandr Yegorov and Jeremy Parodi.
Unusually tall and rangy like his brother, McDonnell finds himself ranked in the top 10 by the WBC, WBO and IBF in a division stacked with British talent. Future unification clashes against the likes of Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton are not out of the question.
With Saunders - the only man to beat Eubank Jr - becoming a world champion, Eubank Jr's own stock rises by proxy. Although the Hatfield fighter dismissed Eubank Jr's immediate challenge, a rematch of their 2014 clash seems like an inevitability.
Eubank Jr certainly has inherited the headline-grabbing nous of his former world champion father but his recent exploits in the ring are even more encouraging - especially the manner in which he dispatched Gary O'Sullivan to become mandatory challenge to WBA champion Daniel Jacobs.
Jacobs may not be keen to face Eubank Jr early next year but although the Brighton man may opt to face British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell next, he is ranked sixth by the WBC and second by the WBA and is surely only one or two fights away from a world title tilt.
There were some that called Smith's British super-middleweight title clash with Rocky Fielding a 50-50 clash but it proved anything but. Smith blasted his fellow Liverpudlian out in the first round and confirmed his status as one of the sport's most exciting young talents.
Of course, Britain already boasts a world champion in the weight class in James DeGale but with Smith ranked by all four major governing bodies, all routes to the top are seemingly open for Smith; the youngest of four brothers that include current WBO super-welterweight champion Liam Smith.
At 6ft 3in, Smith cuts an intimidating figure in the ring but insists he has no problem making the weight, so current super-middleweight kings Badou Jack, DeGale, Fedor Chudinov and Arthur Abraham should start expecting knocks on their doors.
Little can be said that hasn't been said already, but the recent war with old foe Dillian Whyte for the British and Commonwealth title told us more than any of his previous professional bouts had. The punching power has always been apparent but The O2 saw Joshua have to survive a rocky second round.
Joshua learned not everyone he faces is predisposed merely to survival. Everyone else learned that while he's never had any problem dishing it out, Joshua can recuperate quickly after wearing big shots himself. How crucial those lessons prove in the long-run, only time will tell us.
What is for sure is that Joshua continues to be marketed like the next big thing in British sport. Tyson Fury now holds world titles, WBC king Deontay Wilder continues to be linked with several British fighters but since the IBF opted to strip the former, that route seemingly makes most sense if Joshua plans to be a world champion in 2016.
