What is the Ring Fighter of the Year?
Fighter of the Year is the headline annual award of The Ring, the boxing magazine founded in 1922. It has been awarded since 1928, making it the sport's oldest continuing individual honour, and it sits alongside the magazine's fight, knockout, round, trainer and prospect of the year awards, and its own lineal championship belts.[1] [2]
Why does a magazine award matter in boxing?
Because professional boxing has no single world federation. Four sanctioning bodies — the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO — each award their own world titles, and World Boxing governs the Olympic side of the sport. Into that gap The Ring's ratings, its championship belt and its Fighter of the Year have functioned since the 1920s as the closest thing the professional sport has to a neutral record — a role that BoxRec now plays for results.[2] [3]
Who won it most recently?
Terence Crawford was named 2025 Fighter of the Year at The Ring's awards gala in New York. He fought once in the year, moving up two weight classes from junior middleweight to super middleweight to beat Canelo Álvarez on the scorecards — a win that made him the only male boxer to have been undisputed champion in three divisions in the four-belt era.[2] [4]
Why does it matter?
Because it is a century-old editorial judgement, applied across every weight class and every promoter, in a sport whose formal titles are fragmented among four organisations. The Ring's Fighter of the Year list is one of the few continuous, comparable records boxing has.[1] [2]
References
- The Ring — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- The Ring — 2025 Ring Awards: Terence Crawford, Fighter of the Year. Accessed August 2026.
- BoxRec — records and ratings. Accessed August 2026.
- DAZN — Terence Crawford wins 2025 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year. Accessed August 2026.