By: Sean Crose
As the summer wound down, people were starting to think that perhaps he had a chance. Sure, he was essentially jumping up two-way divisions, and sure he was going up against a living legend, perhaps the best in the world, who also happened to be naturally bigger than him. But he trusted his game plan nonetheless. Still people were surprised after the fight went down. Not that Terence Crawford had pulled off the stunning feat of besting Canelo Alvarez so much is how dominant the fighter known as Bud was against Canelo during the fight. It certainly wasn’t a one-sided blowout. But Crawford spent the fight largely in control. It was a stunning thing to see.
And that’s why, without doubt, Terence Crawford is Boxing Insider’s 2025 Fighter Of The Year. Not that he hasn’t had some serious competition. Sure enough, there are people out there saying the incredible Naoya Inoue should have the honors this time around. It’s a legitimate argument to make. Inoue, who most recently decimated his latest foe while making it look easy, fought four full times this year and against the best competition available. He’s an amazing example of what it is to be a great fighter indeed. But he didn’t do what Crawford did, which was rattle the sport of boxing to its core. The deciding factor was more a case of looking at the big picture than it was dotting i’s and crossing t’s.
Crawford’s strategy in defeating Canelo was a simple one but a brilliant one nonetheless. The most important thing for him was to not get hit cleanly by Canelo who is widely as an incredibly strong puncher. As I wrote at the time, “Crawford also knew to be judicious when he attacked. It took a while for Crawford to really start giving Canelo the business on the inside. When he did though he emerged victorious as he was faster and more accurate than his foe. He simply wouldn’t let Canelo get the better of those phone booth moment(s).” It ultimately all proved too much for the legendary Canelo. Like Ray Leonard rising to the occasion to defeat Marvin Hagler, Crawford stuck to a plan that was simple but exceedingly hard to defeat.
That sort of thing makes up the stuff of legend, which is why Crawford has the Fight Of The Year honors for 2025. The guy really went above and beyond and if he’s retired as he says he is, well, all the more power to him. He certainly did terrific work in the ring.
