Terence Crawford Named Ring Fighter of the Year After Canelo Win

Terence Crawford was named the 2025 Male Fighter of the Year by The Ring, following a year defined by a single fight that outweighed activity elsewhere in the sport.

Crawford earned the award after moving up two weight classes to challenge undisputed super middleweight champion Saul Canelo Alvarez and winning a clear decision. The result made Crawford the first male fighter in the four belt era to hold undisputed titles in three divisions. He boxed once in 2025, but the Ring panel treated the scale of the task and the outcome itself as decisive.

The selection stood apart from a more traditional volume based reading of Fighter of the Year. Several other nominees carried fuller schedules.

Other nominees were more active across the year, but their work was spread across multiple fights rather than one defining result.

Heavyweight titleholder Fabio Wardley also stayed active. None, however, produced a single win the Ring panel weighed more heavily than Crawford’s result at 168 pounds.

On the women’s side, Mizuki Hiruta was named Female Fighter of the Year after four successful title defenses, the busiest schedule among female world titleholders in 2025. Hiruta outpointed Maribel Hernandez in January, defeated Carla Merino in May to claim the vacant Ring title at 115 pounds, and followed with wins over Naomy Cardenas in August and Gloria Gallardo in November. The Ring cited consistency and activity in its decision.

Other female nominees included Evelin Bermudez, Mikaela Mayer, Ellie Scotney, and Katie Taylor.

Fight of the Year honors went to the first meeting between Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn, won by Eubank via unanimous decision. Knockout of the Year was awarded to Brian Norman Jnr for his stoppage of Jin Sasaki. Trainer of the Year went to Shingo Inoue for overseeing championship campaigns involving Naoya Inoue and Takuma Inoue.

Upset of the Year was claimed by Jose Armando Resendiz for his split decision win over Caleb Plant. Round of the Year was awarded to the ninth round of Seiya Tsutsumi against Daigo Higa. Prospect of the Year honors went to Emiliano Vargas, who went unbeaten across four bouts in 2025.

The awards reflected a split philosophy. Crawford’s selection emphasized degree of difficulty. Hiruta’s highlighted sustained output. Together, they outlined how the Ring weighed achievement across a year that offered few uniform benchmarks.