2025: The Year In Review

January 11, 2026January 11, 2026 Robert Portis

How to summarize the year in professional boxing just ended? Looking back at 2025, we are grateful for Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue of course, as well as Jesse Rodriguez, Fabio Wardley, and Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr., but we are also somewhat frustrated by the paltry activity levels of so many of the top talents in the sport, and the general dearth of high-level fight cards. For some of us here at your favourite independent boxing site, it’s still a challenge getting accustomed to 21st century pugilism. All that said, this article is all about taking a little time to appreciate the accomplishments of the year just ended and to accentuate the positive. So without further ado, the fights and fighters who have earned our plaudits and coveted awards. Check ’em out:

Upset of the Year Nominations:
Rolando Romero W12 Ryan Garcia
Fabio Wardley TKO11 Joseph Parker
Armando Resendiz W12 Caleb Plant
Aaron McKenna W12 Liam Smith
Tiara Brown SD10 Skye Nicolson
Lewis Crocker W12 Paddy Donovan

Winner: Armando Resendiz W12 Caleb Plant

Resendiz had two losses in his last five outings and was regarded as nothing more than a stay-busy opponent for a Plant who appeared firmly established at the elite level of the super middleweight division. But all preconceptions about this match quickly went out the window as the Mexican underdog, clearly not impressed by Plant’s credentials, defied all expectations, not only pulling off a huge upset but doing so emphatically, even coming close to scoring a stoppage. It was a shocker of major proportions, one that compelled everyone to re-evaluate the standings of both fighters.

Knockout of the Year Nominations:
Masataka Taniguchi KO3 Condor Inaba
Fabio Wardley KO10 Justis Huni
Cayden Griffiths KO10 Fernando Elias Ruiz Hernandez
Anthony Joshua KO6 Jake Paul
Janibek Alimkhanuly KO5 Anaeul Ngamissengue
Elif Nur Turhan TKO6 Beatriz Ferreira
Brian Norman Jr KO5 Jin Sasaki

Winner: Anthony Joshua KO6 Jake Paul

One devastating right hand not only fractured Jake Paul’s jaw in two places, but effectively ended, once and for all, his absurd pretensions of being an elite-level professional boxer. Some were more spectacular, more violent, more shocking, but no other knockout in 2025 even comes close to having a greater impact on the sport. With any luck, the Jake Paul circus is finally over.

Round of the Year Nominations:
Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn 1, Round 12
Isaac Cruz vs Angel Fierro, Round 10
Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes, Round 11
Jesse Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez, Round 10
Richardson Hitchins vs George Kombosos Jr, Round 8
Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alverez, Round 9
Joseph Parker vs Fabio Wardley, Round 10
Naoya Inoue vs Ramon Cardenas, Round 2
Cristobal Lorente vs Nate Collins, Round 6

Winner: Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes, Round 11

Mason vs Noakes was a stand-out clash in a year of excellent action fights and one of the major reasons for that is the three minutes of the fight’s penultimate round, a thrilling war within the war, filled with sharp exchanges and momentum shifts that kept fans on the edge of their seats from bell to bell. It epitomized the back-and-forth nature of the violent battle itself, one which showcased high skill, stamina and incredible heart from both fighters, with Mason ultimately winning by unanimous decision.

Performance of the Year:
Dmitry Bivol W12 Artur Beterbiev
Terence Crawford W12 Canelo Alvare
Naoya Inoue W12 Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Jesse Rodriguez KO10 Fernando Martinez
Alycia Baumgardner W12 Leila Beaudoin
Katie Taylor W12 Amanda Serrano

Winner: Terence Crawford

Not that long ago Terence Crawford was a welterweight, and so many of us could be forgiven for thinking to ourselves, “they have weight classes for a reason” when the Crawford vs Canelo bout was first announced. There was also the fact that Canelo had firmly established himself as the undisputed king at 168 pounds, along with occasional forays into the light heavyweight division, so again, Crawford vs Canelo, on paper, looked like the proverbial “good big man vs good little man” duel which, as any student of boxing history knows, usually does not go well for the smaller man. So a surprise it was, and a most impressive performance, when Crawford didn’t just prevail, but outclassed Canelo with a masterful display of skill and ring smarts to take a one-sided decision and score a historically significant victory. Unlike other awards, “Performance of the Year” for 2025 was an easy one to decide.

Fight of the Year:
Chris Eubank Jr. W12 Coner Benn
Dmitry Bivol W12 Artur Beterbiev
Katie Taylor W12 Amanda Serrano
Kenshiro Teraji TKO12 Seigo Yuri Akui
Shadasia Green W10 Savannah Marshall
Naoya Inoue KO8 Ramon Cardenas
Christian Mbilli D10 Lester Martinez
Junto Nakatani W12 Sebastian Hernandez

Winner: Kenshiro Teraji TKO12 Seigo Yuri Akui

2025 was a stand-out year for dramatic, action-packed battles, which made choosing our Fight of the Year a rather challenging task, but in the end we had to conclude that nothing could surpass the fireworks of last March’s flyweight unification showdown between Japanese warriors Teraji and Akui at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. It was all action, all the way, round after furious round, before Teraji, trailing on the scorecards, attacked with urgency to force a dramatic stoppage in the twelfth and final round.

Fighter of the Year:
Terence Crawford
Katie Taylor
Jesse Rodriguez
Naoya Inoue
Jai Opetaia

Winner: Naoya Inoue

Not that there was any question about the matter around these parts, but 2025 can be considered the year that Naoya Inoue established beyond all doubt that he is an all-time great pugilist. As everyone is well aware, four championship victories in a single calendar year represents a unique accomplishment in today’s version of the fight game, but what makes it even more extraordinary in this case is the fact that Inoue is 32-years-old and has been competing at the championship level since 2014. And he is still undefeated.

Nothing but championship wins since 2014.

Additionally, these were not four routine title defenses. Both Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Ramon Cardenas represented significant challenges; both were ranked highly in the super bantamweight division and both were deserving of their chances to battle for world titles. Inoue had to rise from a knockdown to defeat Cardenas by eighth round TKO, and such was Akhmadaliev’s abilities that one suspects that nothing less than the superlative technical performance which the champion gave could have neutralized the tough Uzbek. Yes, the wins over Alan Picasso and Ye Joon Kim were of a more perfunctory nature, but they were also dominant. In the final analysis, Inoue did not just score four championship victories in 2025; he gave four masterclasses in the art of pugilism, losing precious few minutes, let alone rounds, in the process, while eliminating two of the most threatening challengers remaining in his division. If anyone had any lingering doubts whatsoever about Naoya Inoue’s greatness, 2025 should have eliminated them. He is an all-time great, and he is, once again, our Fighter of the Year. –Robert Portis

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