FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, MALE
🏆WINNER: NAOYA INOUE
Our 2025 FIGHTER OF THE YEAR is NAOYA INOUE, who separated himself form the competition with dominant performances and an elite activity level. Boxing’s pint-sized “Monster” defended his world titles four times, beating to super bantamweight division while facing opponents with a combined 94.5% winning percentage. INOUE’s strength of schedule and consistency ultimately eclipsed TERENCE CRAWFORD’s historic win over CANELO ÁLVAREZ, to secure this honor.
NOMINEES
Terence Crawford
JESSE RODRIGUEZ
Jai opetaia
DMITRY Bivol
FABIO WARDLEY
MOSES ITAUMA
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
🏆WINNER: ELIF NUR TURHAN
Turkish knockout artist ELIF NUR TURHAN is our Women’s Boxing FIGHTER OF THE YEAR after a sensational 2025 that included three upset wins over undefeated fighters (FERREIRA, AYADI, BROWNE, 24–0 combined), capped by our selection for KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR against Shauna Browne. TURHAN stopped every opponent within six rounds, punctuating her rise with a TKO win over former unbeaten IBF Lightweight World Champ, BEATRIZ FERREIRA. Given her rapid ascent and dominant win over our 2024 Prospect of the year (FERREIRA), the self-proclaimed “GOLDEN TURKISH WARRIOR” was our consensus pick for this honor.
NOMINEES
Mikaela Mayer
CLARESSA SHIELDS
gABRIELA fUNDORA
Yokasta Valle
Alycia Baumgardner
Mizuki Hiruta
ELLIE SCOTNEY
FIGHT OF THE YEAR, MEN’S BOXING
🏆WINNER: Christian Mbilli SDRAW10 Lester Martínez
Our FIGHT OF THE YEAR was an easy call: CHRISTIAN MBILLI’s SPLIT Draw with LESTER MARTÍNEZ. Fighting for the WBC World Championship on the Canelo vs. Crawford undercard, the duo waged a brutal 10-round phonebooth war, trading over 1,700 punches with neither fighter giving an inch. With historic stakes, massive viewership (41M live), and nonstop action, it was a rare DRAW that felt universally satisfying.
NOMINEES
KENSHIRO Teraji TKO12 SEIGO YURI Akui
chris Eubank Jr. UD12 Conor Benn – I
NAOYA Inoue TKO8 RAMON Cardenas
DMITRY Bivol MD12 ARTUR Beterbiev – II
DAVID Benavidez UD12 DAVID Morrell
ISAAC CRUZ UD10 ANGEL FIERRO
fernando martinez ud12 kazuto Ioka
FIGHT OF THE YEAR, WOMEN’S BOXING
🏆WINNER: Kim Clavel UD10 Sol Cudos
While the TAYLOR–Serrano trilogy dominated headlines in 2025, our Women’s Boxing FIGHT OF THE YEAR came from a September MVP PROSPECTS 15 card, where KIM CLAVEL outdueled former IBF World Minimumweight Champ, SOL CUDOS by unanimous decision. Despite misleadingly wide scorecards, the bout was a high-speed, high-stakes barnburner featuring adversity for CLAVEL, who was cut early, and relentless action throughout, including a blistering 10th round that was a strong candidate for Women’s boxing ROUND OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEES
KATIE TAYLOR MD10 Amanda Serrano
tiara brown sd10 skye nicholson
SOL CUDOS SD10 MARIA SOL BAUMSTARH
Cecilia Brækhus UD10 ema kozin
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
🏆WINNER: Turki Alalshikh (RIYADH SEASON)
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and his Riyadh Season promotions ran away with our 2025 PROMOTER OF THE YEAR honors for the second straight year. Their banner headlined boxing’s biggest and most consequential events, including Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford, Bivol–Beterbiev II, and THE RING V: NIGHT OF THE SAMURAI. Several of these cards ranked among the year’s most watched and highest-grossing events. Further cementing their dominance, RIYADH SEASON secured elite talent, highlighted by reportedly signing Álvarez to a four-fight deal in February.
NOMINEES
MATCHROOM BOXING (EDDIE HEARN)
Queensberry Promotions (Frank Warren)
TOP RANK (BOB ARUM)
Golden Boy Promotions (oscar de la hoya)
Most Valuable promotions (MVP)
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR, MEN’S BOXING
🏆WINNER: Brian Norman JR. KTFO5 Jin Sasaki
2025’s most devastating knockout came when WBO World Welterweight Champ, BRIAN NORMAN JR. landed a flawless left hook on No. 2–ranked JIN SASAKI, ending the fight instantly in round five. Norman Jr’s sudden, chilling, and memory loss-inducing KTFO of Sasaki — delivered on a major stage in Japan with NORMAN JR.’s World Title on the line — stunned the crowd and sealed our top spot as the KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEES
Jai Opetaia KTFO8 Hüseyin Cinkara
Frank Martin KTFO4 Rances Barthelemy
Craig Richards KTFO12 Dan Azeez
Marlon Harrington KTFO1 Bryan Polanco
Jai Opetaia KTFO4 David Nyika
Kaine Tomlinson Jr. KTFO1 Patrick Sullivan
Stephan Shaw KTFO1 Raphael Akpejori
Arvin Jhon Paciones KTFO2 Jeraldine Ocrarit
Julian Rodriguez KO10 Avious Griffin
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR, WOMEN’S BOXING
🏆WINNER: Elif Nur Turhan KTFO1 Shauna Browne
Women’s Boxing’s KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR belonged to ELIF NUR TURHAN, who delivered the year’s most eye-catching knockout against Shauna Browne in March. In a battle of unbeaten lightweights, TURHAN’s heat-seeking left hook dropped BROWNE in the opening round and effectively ended the contest on the spot. The emphatic finish underscored the power and precision that define the “Golden Turkish Warrior.”
NOMINEES
Elif Nur Turhan KTFO5 Beatriz Ferreira
Kacey Wheeler KTFO 1 natali Fagan
TRAINER OF THE YEAR
🏆WINNER: Brian “BoMac” McIntyre
BRIAN “BOMAC” McINTYRE reclaimed the top spot among boxing’s trainers, earning his second TRAINER OF THE YEAR award in three years (2023, 2025). In 2025, he masterminded Terence Crawford’s historic win over Canelo Álvarez, guided Lester MARTÍNEZ to a FIGHT OF THE YEAR-caliber DRAW with Christian Mbilli, and oversaw key victories for Shakur Stevenson, Keyshawn Davis (who split with BOMAC in June), and Chris Eubank Jr. (EUBANK Jr. – BENN I). Given the breadth and significance of these successes, McINTYRE was the clear choice in this category.
NOMINEES
SHINGO INOUE
ROBERTO GARCIA
Gennady Mashianov
Jose Benavidez Sr.
Bozy Ennis
COMEBACK VICTORY OF THE YEAR
🏆WINNER: Vernon Brown TKO7 Gor Yeritsyan
Vernon Brown’s Rocky-esque upset of GOR YERITSYAN ran away with our COMEBACK VICTORY OF THE YEAR award. After losing nearly every minute of every round, Brown flipped the script with a sneaky left hand that dropped Yeritsyan in the 7th round. Brown then poured on the pressure to force a referee stoppage with just 18 seconds left in the round. Equal parts improbable and dramatic, Brown’s win doubled as an upset of the year candidate but stood tallest as the year’s best comeback.
NOMINEES
Conah Walker TKO11 Harry Scarff
Thomas LaManna TKO5 Juan Rodriguez Jr.
MOST IMPROVED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, MALE
🏆WINNER: CONAH WALKER
After flying under the radar with a 4–3 stretch from 2022–24, Welterweight buzzsaw Conah Walker caught fire in 2025 with three knockout wins over Harry Scarfff, Liam Taylor, and unbeaten Pat McCormack. Walker capped his 2025 run by stopping McCormack in the closing seconds of their fight to claim the IBF Inter-Continental title. Walker’s penchant for knockouts, willingness to take risks, and his activity level made him a slam dunk for our most improved fighter OF THE YEAR award.
NOMINEES
Armando Reséndiz
Jahi Tucker
Hamzah Sheeraz
Najee Lopez
James Dickens
Ernesto Mercado
MOST IMPROVED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
🏆WINNER: TIARA BROWN
Featherweight World Champion, TIARA BROWN, backed up her trash talk towards former unbeaten champ, SKYE NICHOLSON, with a stunning split-decision victory over NICHOLSON in March. BROWN sandwiched the victory over NICHOLSON with an early win over CALISTA SILGADO and successful title defense against EMMA GONGORA in September. BROWN’s signature road win over NICHOLSON and consistent activity level earned her the MOST IMPROVED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR award.
NOMINEES
Francesca Hennessy
Elizabeth Oshoba
Sarah Liegmann
Chelsey MAE Anderson
Maisey Rose Courtney
🚨UPSET OF THE YEAR🚨
🏆WINNER: Fabio Wardley TKO11 Joseph Parker
Albeit one of year’s most controversial stoppages, Fabio Wardley’s dramatic upset of betting favorite Joseph Parker (+280 vs. -400, respectively) was our 2025 UPSET OF THE YEAR. Trailing on two scorecards, Wardley forced a 10th-round stoppage over Parker, who had only been stopped once as a pro (Joe Joyce) and was on a six-fight win dating back to 2023, including victories over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, and Martin Bakole. Wardley’s comeback, the high stakes (WBO World Championship on the line), and quality of this matchup made it stand out as the UPSET OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEES
Julian Rodriguez KO10 Avious Griffin
Terence Crawford UD12 Canelo Álvarez
Armando Reséndiz SD12 Caleb Plant
Kristaps Zulgis TKO1 Jack Oliphant
Rolly Romero UD12 Ryan Garcia
Francisco Rodriguez Jr. UD12 galal Yafai
James Dickens TKO4 Albert Batygaziev
Vernon Brown TKO 7 Gor Yeritsyan
BREAKOUT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, MALE
🏆WINNER: Abdullah Mason
Our 2024 Prospect of the Year, Abdullah Mason, began 2025 as an unbeaten lightweight prospect and closed it out as the new WBO World Lightweight Champion. With a four-fight schedule and wins over unbeaten SAM NOAKES and interim world title challenger JEREMIA NAKATHILA, MASON clearly separated himself from the competition. His stellar run earned him our top honor among a deep field of rising stars.
NOMINEES
Diego Pacheco
Najee Lopez
Jesus Ramos Jr.
Pavel Sosulin
Callum Walsh
Cain Sandoval
Ernesto Mercado
BREAKOUT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
Seventeen-year-old Camila Zamorano became Women’s boxing’s youngest current world champion, claiming the WBC Atomweight title with a shutout UD win over SANA HAZUKI in October. Zamorano also notched key wins earlier in the year, defeating unbeaten Yoselyn Perez Lopez and capturing an interim world title against beating Mika Iwakawa. Her age, busy schedule, and dominance earned her top billing as our BREAKOUT FIGHTER OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEES
Francesca Hennessy
Elizabeth Oshoba
Sarah Liegmann
tiara brown
PROSPECT OF THE YEAR, MALE
🏆WINNER: Tomoya Tsuboi
In a deep prospect class, Super Flyweight Tomoya Tsuboi faced one of the toughest schedules in 2025, winning his first three fights against opponents with a combined 76–9–1 record. Highlights included capturing a vacant WBO Asian Pacific Bantamweight title in only his second pro fight with a near-shutout over Van Thao Tran and stopping former World Super Flyweight Champ, Carlos Cuadras, in November. Now ranked in the Top 6 by The Ring, WBO, and WBC, Tsuboi was the clear choice for PROSPECT OF THE YEAR.
NOMINEES
Gradus Kraus
Brandon Mosqueda
Giorgio Visioli
Daniel Blancas
Hamza Uddin
Nishant Dev
PROSPECT OF THE YEAR, FEMALE
🏆WINNER: Tiah-Mai Ayton
Prospect TIAH-MAI AYTON dominated in 2025, scoring consecutive knockouts in four fights. She dropped all her opponents multiple times in each bout, far exceeding expectations and showcasing early-career prowess that impressed both pundits and Women’s boxing elite. World champ Katie Taylor even hailed AYTON as a “future star.”
NOMINEES
Roxy Verduzco
Molly McCann
Maisey Rose Courtney
🤦WORST DECISION OF THE YEAR🤦
🏆WINNER: REFEREE’s Questionable sToppage of Emiliano Moreno VS. Cesar Francis (TKO7; changed to NO CONTEST)
2025’s WORST DECISION OF THE YEAR goes to referee DAN STELL for his baffling 7th-round stoppage of EMILIANO MORENO vs. CESAR FRANCIS, initially awarding MORENO a TKO win that was later overturned to a NO CONTEST. FRANCIS, still defending himself intelligently and tracking punches, was prematurely waved off despite ending the previous round ahead on two of three scorecards and even on the third card. This questionable call and its impact make MORENO vs. FRANCIS the year’s most controversial stoppage.
NOMINEES
Lewis Crocker SD12 Paddy Donovan – II
Marco Verde TKO4 Sona Akale (contraversial stoppage)
Fabio Wardley TKO11 Joseph Parker (contraversial stoppage)
Isaac Cruz Mdraw12 Lamont Roach
Gervonta Davis MDRAW12 Lamont Roach (missed knockdown)
René Téllez Girón UD10 Jordan White (scorecards too close)
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About the Author:
Paul R. Jones! is a longtime boxing writer and ringside photographer for Boxing News 24/7. His articles and photographs have been published in many online outlets (e.g., Boxing News 24, Round by Round Boxing, and Boxing Insider) and in scholarly journals.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @boxingepicenter. Email him at prjones1@hotmail.com.
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