Norwalk, CT (BoxingGurus.com) - There has been much hype around four particular "young guns" out of the Main Events stable: Francisco Bojado, Juan Diaz, Rocky Juarez and Jeff Lacy. Main Events, led by head honcho Gary Shaw, has scored a coup with the proclaimed "Hit Squad" and didn't just find one diamond in the rough, but four.

The question everyone is asking me is how good will they be? The answer is…I wish I knew. If you look at the past, not many "can't miss" athletes actually live up to the expectations, but here is hoping that things are a changin'.

And to put to rest the comments that some have made about the youngsters fighting weak competition, the opponents the "Hit Squad" have fought have mostly had winning records, which is better than most other prospects go up against early in their careers. Gary Shaw has done a great job prepping these guys and getting them in there against live opponents. The "Hit Squad" is just that good and they make their opponents look bad.

Let's go through each fighter and see their strengths and weaknesses (if any) at this point in their brief careers. At the end, I will discuss how well I think each fighter will do in their careers (don't scroll down now and ruin the suspense). What the heck do I know? Not that much, but I have seen all these fighters live and in person and have also had a chance to talk to each fighter and get their take of all the hype around them. We will go in alphabetical order to not slight any of them.

Francisco "Panchito" Bojado (5-0, 5 KO) - Gary Shaw calls him "the best young talent he has ever seen." Shaw won't get any argument from me. Right now Bojado is the odds on favorite of the bunch to be the best and have the better career. Bojado has power in both hands, and to show proof of his power, Bojado has broken two of his five opponents noses thus far. He also has tons of hand speed and quickness, but his best attribute might be his smoothness in the ring. He has total control in the ring and knows when to go after a fighter when he is hurt and knows when to just stay back and box.

Bojado, who just turned 18 last week, was the youngest member on Mexico's 2000 Olympic boxing team. As an amateur, Bojado racked up an eye-popping 168-15 record with 85 KO. But Bojado is not in the amateur's anymore, and that leads to his one weakness (and I am stretching here). I think thus far in his pro career, Bojado has been too perfect, if that could be a weakness. What I mean is that he is totally dominating these guys and is not getting tested, and when he does get in the ring with someone who tests him, there will be a question to how he reacts. I know that is not a very good weakness, but I need to write something.

Bojado has stated that he would like to gain a title at Junior Lightweight (130 pounds) or Lightweight (135 pounds), depending on how long he has to wait to get a title shot. Bojado's plans for the next year or so are very similar to the others. He wants to keep fighting once a month and fight a top-10 ranked opponent by years end. Then by the end of next year, he would like to get a world title shot. Of course, there are many things that can happen between now and then, but the man (let me say boy) has a plan.

Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz (9-0, 6 KO) - I first fell in love with this kid (well not in love, but, you know what I mean) when I saw him on Friday Night Fights back on December 1, 2000. The kid was so workman like and just pounded away on his opponent not getting too anxious or wild, just taking his time and punishing his opponent. I have now seen him two more times, both in person, and I only like the kid's skills more and more. He has one of the best body attacks I have ever seen, and that doesn't go for just a young fighter, that is ALL FIGHTERS. His left hook to the body is a killer and when you hear it in person, it sounds like a shotgun going off.

Diaz was 3 months too young to compete for Mexico in the 2000 Olympics, as he was only 16 at the time. Diaz is now 17 and will turn 18 in a few months. After compiling a 105-5 amateur record, Diaz decided to go ahead and turn pro instead of waiting around another 4 years for the Olympics. Most people agree that it was the best choice.

The one knock that most people have for Diaz is that he doesn't appear to be in the best of shape. Diaz admitted, "My goal is 135 pounds, so I need to work off this little fat around my waist." But with more time in the gym and staying active, the baby fat will come right off as long as he stays dedicated and focused between fights.

Diaz is at a little more advanced stage than the others as he has 9 professional fights and some against really decent competition. Diaz, who wants to compete at Lightweight (135 pounds), feels that he can get to 15-0 by years end and start picking off top-10 contenders and then earn a title shot around his birthday (September 17th) next year. That means, if the cards fall right, we might have a world champion at the age of 18. Wow!!! Would that be a story or what???

Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy (3-0, 3 KO) - If you want to see an intimidating fighter, take a look at this guy!!! He might not be very tall for a Super Middleweight (168 pounds), but this guy is all muscle and has hardly an ounce of fat on him. Lacy is so scary that his first scheduled opponent skipped town after seeing Lacy take off his shirt at the weigh in. His opponent was offered three times his original pay and still did not accept.

Lacy has tons of power especially with his left hand (hence the nickname Left Hook). In his pro debut, Lacy KO'd his opponent, Jerald Lowe, in the first round and when Lowe came to his senses, he said, "I thought I got hit by a brick."

Lacy was a member of the 2000 US Olympic boxing team and racked up an amateur record of 209-12. As the oldest of the group, at 24 years old, time might be a little more of the essence with Lacy. He looks physically more mature and if fighters keep bailing out against him, he might be forced to start fighting top-10 opponents very soon. The one knock I have for Lacy, besides not getting enough rounds in due to the fact of Lacy KO his opponents so quickly, is he still needs to work on his technical boxing skills, like his jab. It isn't as crisp and powerful as it should be for someone his size.

Lacy appears to be following the same path as the others and wants to stay active and fight once a month. I think he will be fast tracked more than the others due to being physically developed more and his age.

Ricardo "Rocky" Juarez (3-0, 2 KO) - Last, but certainly not least, Rocky Juarez is the best technical fighter of the group. Juarez has superior boxing skills, but does not have a big punch to rely on like the other guys. Juarez can throw punches in bunches and overwhelm his opponents, but don't expect too many one punch KO's like the other guns are capable of doing. Juarez also has good defensive skills and does a great job slipping punches to free up his accurate combos.

Juarez was also a member of the 2000 US Olympic boxing team and won a silver medal, losing a controversial match in the gold medal match. Juarez had an impressive 145-17 amateur record before turning pro this year.

The biggest weakness of Juarez's appears to be his lack of power. It is still early in his career, so that could come along, but I just don't get the sense Juarez will be laying out guys throughout his career. He will just put combos together and wear his opponents down and out point them for victories.

Juarez will be coming into one of the toughest group of divisions in all of boxing. The 118-126 pound weight classes are loaded in talent, so expect Juarez to come along a bit slower that the rest, not because he can't hang with these guys in the future, but he needs to be better prepared to fight more talented guys than the other "Hit Squad" members. Juarez also only has 3 fights and has fought about once every 2 months compared to once a month, like he was planning to do.

PREDICTIONS:

Now here is my take on each fighter as to how far each fighter will go in their careers. I will rank them as how successful I think their careers will be, starting with the most successful and moving backwards. Now this in no way disrespects any of these "young guns". They are all great prospects and will have fantastic careers, but I just want to give my take on how well they will do.

Francisco Bojado: There is no question in my mind that this guy has world champion written all over him. I think he will win titles in 2-3 divisions ranging anywhere from 130-140 pounds. I think 147 pounds will be a push considering he does not have that big of a frame. Go ahead and pencil him in on your top-10 P4P list by the end of 2003, as he will have won a title no later than earlier that year and started his reign.

Juan Diaz: I am going with a little shocker here as Diaz gets the least amount of publicity, but I just can't help but love this kids style. His devastating body work will get him a world title at 135-140 pounds at first, and then he has the ability to move up to 147 pounds comfortably. I think his weight will always be an issue and that is what keeps me from saying he will be better than just a world champion. He might be one of the youngest ever to win a world title if he works his way up to a shot by the end of next year and wins.

Jeff Lacy: There is definitely a world championship in his future as his power alone would be able to win a title. The Super Middleweight division (168 pounds) is very weak at this point in time and even has a vacant title in it, so the potential of Lacy winning a title very quickly is there. I don't see Lacy moving up very much more than maybe Light Heavyweight (175 pounds) at max and a very solid career should be ahead of him.

Rocky Juarez: This is the only "Young Gun" that I have to question if he will win a world title. This kid appears to have tons of heart and plenty of skill, but as I mentioned earlier, the divisions he will be entering are very tough and talent laden. I think there are just too many really good champions and contenders at these weight classes for Juarez to compete in the next few years. If he moves up too quickly, it could ruin his career, so if he goes slowly there is much potential for him to win a world title. I would just not count on it.

Now, I am in no way bashing any of these prospects, just giving my take on their careers at a very early juncture. They all may turn out to be Hall-of-Famers or they all may turn out to be busts. But one thing they all have done is added a level of excitement to boxing that is bringing new fans to the sport. They are all great kids and do things in their community to help kids stay in school and stay away from drugs. Gary Shaw is doing a great job thus far with the "Hit Squad", and if he can work the same magic as he did with Fernando Vargas, we might have a great next few years in boxing!!