One of the big complaints about the Heavyweight division is that the emerging fighters aren't up to much. Thankfully this isn't as true as some would have you believe and this past Saturday saw a number of great prospects in action.

The most notable of those was Britain's Anthony Joshua (5-0, 5) who swiftly took out Argentinian veteran Hector Alfredo Avila (22-16-1, 14). The bout was sold as Joshua taking on an opponent who had gone 9 rounds with Dereck Chisora though Avila didn't look like he could have gone 1 round with any half decent pro here. As soon as Joshua connected Avila wanted out and he made it obvious.

If Joshua was the most notable prospect then the youngest was 18 year old Ilja Mezencev (4-0, 4) who continued his winning run by stopping Milos Doveden (0-4) in just 40 seconds. Mezencev is a fighter we'd advise keeping a close eye on and whilst he currently looks like a Cruiserweight he will mature into a very promising young fighter.

Mezencev wasn't the only teenage prospect to pick up a victory as the 19 year old Tom Schwarz (4-0, 2) took a 4 round decision over Latvian Janis Ginters (5-7, 5). Schwarz, who is trained by Ulf Steinforth, will likely have people questioning his power though at 19 years old it's obvious he's not began to develop his man strength and getting rounds under his belt is probably more important to him than getting KO's at the moment.

On the same card as the Schwarz/Ginters fight there was a second Heavyweight contest which saw Michael Wallisch (12-0, 8) defending his German Heavyweight title against the previously unbeaten Frank Schadwill (7-1, 6).

One more unbeaten prospect in action was the heavy handed Charles Martin (15-0-1, 13) who scored a 2nd round KO over Tyyab Beale (9-4-2, 3) ending an 8 fight unbeaten run from Beale who had won his last 4, including a stoppage over former Golden Gloves champion Nathan James.

It wasn't just the prospects in action but also journeymen. Back in the UK Paul Butlin (15-20, 3) defeated the still win-less James Oliphant (0-6-2) whilst in the US Danny Batchelder (30-9-1, 14) managed to out point Jonte Willis (9-9-1, 3). Although all 3 of these 4 men have poor records we'd dare say all of them are better their records indicate and all have the potential to be banana skin foes for more touted fighters.

If you asked a neutral boxing fan what the biggest fight of the weekend was they'd tell you that it was David Price (15-2, 13) v Tony Thompson (38-3, 26) II. A bout widely dubbed as "Redemption". Unfortunately for Price it less "Redemption" and more a case of lightning striking twice in a case of "Repetition".

Like in the previous fight Price started and actually dropped Thompson in an exchange. Unfortunately for Price, Thompson got to his feet and showed his toughness both mentally and physically as he battled back. As Thompson start to show that he wasn't going to quit Price started to fold and by the end of round 4 it appeared that Price was empty.

Unfortunately for the Brit there was more to come and he was sent out for round 5 which was probably the worst decision he has ever made. Thompson jumped on him from the off and unloaded with shot after shot, even forcing the referee to give Price a count before finally waved the bout off with Price unfit to continue.

As well as this high profile bouts their was a plethora of action around the world.

In Europe there were debut victories for Ilja Mesencov (1-0, 1) and Spomenko Kuzmanovic (1-0, 1). Mensecov, who was losing on one card managed to stop the undersized Anes Valentic (0-1) in round 3 whilst Kuzmanovic took out Adis Dadovic (0-6) in the second round.

There was also victories for the unbeaten Adnan Redzovic (11-0, 4) who stopped journeyman Alexander Vasiliev (17-18-2, 8) in the second round and Magomed Azuev (4-0, 2) who defeated Aleksandrs Selezens (5-13, 2).

In France there was also a victory for Omar Bellouati (4-1, 2) over Mikael Lopes (3-5).

Things were just as busy stateside.

In Michigan the unbeaten Jordan Shimmell (11-0, 10) defeated veteran Matthew Greer (15-11, 13) who retired at the end of round 3. This was the the 3rd stoppage loss suffered by Greer this year and should surely spell the end to his career before he gets seriously hurt.

On the same card as the Shimmell/Greer fight Raymundo Lopez (4-6, 2) stopped Philip Jewel (5-9-1, 4).

In Utah there were 3 more Heavyweight bouts. The most notable of those saw veterans colliding as Billy Zumbrun (26-13-1-1, 16) stopped Marcus Rhode (35-48-2-2, 29) in the second of a scheduled 6 rounds.

This card also the saw unbeaten Scott Alexander (8-0-1, 4) extending his unbeaten run with a victory over Kevin Howard (3-10-1, 1) and in a minor upset Valente Tinajero (8-5, 1) was beaten by Geovanni Sarran (4-5, 1) over the 6 round distance.