As 2025 has come to a close, it's
time to honor the best that men’s boxing had to offer during the year. Here is
the 15th edition of the Saturday Night Boxing Awards. The 2025 awards are given
to best fighter, fight, knockout, round, upset, trainer, promoter, network, and
referee of the year.
Fighter of the Year: Terence
Crawford
Terence Crawford, now a two-time winner of the SNB Fighter of the Year, moved up two weight classes to defeat future Hall of Famer Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, becoming undisputed champion at super middleweight. Crawford has now been undisputed at three weight classes (junior welterweight, welterweight and super middleweight), a remarkable accomplishment.
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| Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland/TKO Promotions |
Crawford dominated the second half of the Canelo fight, where his hand speed and combinations were superior. By the 11th round, Canelo was looking outside of the ring during the fight action, clearly frustrated by his inability to fend off Crawford. Crawford also had a memorable 12th round, hitting Canelo with dazzling power shots with both hands. It was a hard-earned victory for Crawford. His excellence in the championship rounds proved to be the difference on the judges' scorecards.
Crawford announced
his retirement in December. He leaves the sport with a perfect record of 42-0 with 31 knockouts.
Winning world titles from as low as lightweight to as high as super middleweight, only a couple of his fights were ever in doubt on the
scorecards. He was perhaps one of the best switch hitters of all time and could be a ruthless finisher. 2025 was a perfect capper to a
tremendous career.
Previous SNB Fighters of the Year:
- 2024: Oleksandr Usyk
- 2023: (tie) Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue
- 2022: Dmitry Bivol
- 2021: Saul Alvarez
- 2020: Teofimo Lopez
- 2019: Saul Alvarez
- 2018: Oleksandr Usyk
- 2017: Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
- 2016: Carl Frampton
- 2015: Floyd Mayweather
- 2014: Naoya Inoue
- 2013: Adonis Stevenson
- 2012: Nonito Donaire
- 2011: Andre Ward
Fight of the Year: Kenshiro
Teraji-Seigo Yuri Akui
This flyweight championship
unification fight was not only a war of attrition but it featured some of the best mid- and
short-range fighting of the year. Teraji and Akui, former sparring partners, spent much of the fight mirroring each other. Both featured similar punch arsenals, went to the body ferociously, unfurled vicious uppercuts, and set an
insane work rate.
The fight was mostly contested in
the center of the ring at mid-range. Teraji would circle behind the jab and quick
combinations to the body and head. Akui's money punch was his straight right
hand, and punch for punch, that was the best weapon in the fight.
Although neither fighter wanted to
take a step back, by the fifth round Akui had successfully flushed Teraji out
of the pocket with punishing right hands and body shots. In the 7th, Teraji
impressed with lead right uppercuts, often doubling them up. Those shots made
Akui temporarily retreat. But in the ninth Akui was coming forward again and
despite having the lower KO percentage, it was his power
punches that seemed to have more of an effect.
At the start of the 12th, Teraji went on the offensive. He
landed a big right hand that was his most damaging shot of the fight. Akui
retreated to the ropes, something he had not done all fight and a clear indicator that
he was hurt. Teraji followed up with bracing body shots with both hands.
Akui survived the onslaught, but
he wasn’t offering much in return, and when he did, he lacked conviction. Teraji
kept throwing big shots and ultimately referee Katsuhiko Nakamura stopped the fight. In real time, the stoppage seemed premature, but Akui collapsed
immediately after the fight was waved off. Nakamura saw something in Akui that told him it
was the right move, and it was (more on this in the Referee of the Year).
As for Teraji, he was trailing on
two of the cards going into the 12th round. He needed something dramatic to get
the victory, and boy did he deliver! Teraji-Akui was 12 rounds of unrelenting, unforgettable action.
Previous SNB Fights of the Year:
- 2024: Kholmatov-Ford
- 2023: Nery-Hovhannisyan
- 2022: Wood-Conlan
- 2021: Fury-Wilder III
- 2020: Zepeda-Baranchyk
- 2019: Inoue-Donaire
- 2018: Chisora-Takam
- 2017: Joshua-Klitschko
- 2016: Vargas-Salido
- 2015: Miura-Vargas
- 2014: Coyle-Brizuela
- 2013: Bradley-Provodnikov
- 2012: Pacquiao-Marquez IV
- 2011: Rios-Acosta
Knockout of the Year: (tie)
Fabio Wardley KO 10 Justis Huni and Brian Norman KO 5 Jin Sasaki.
In a year with so many memorable
knockouts, these two stood out to me and I just couldn't choose between them.
Wardley's knockout was one of those out-of-the blue shots. Huni, who had the better amateur pedigree, was easily outboxing Wardley through nine rounds. He was so dominant in
the fight that going into the 10th, he was up by seven rounds on two cards and
five rounds on the third. He essentially just had to stay on his feet to
win.
But Huni didn't intend to run out the clock. He wanted to make an emphatic statement; this was his chance to showcase his class in a deep heavyweight division. With 1:30 left in the 10th, he started a one-two in the center of the ring, but he made a terrible mistake: He jabbed from too close. Wardley slipped the jab to the inside and immediately fired off a counter right. Huni instantaneously hit the canvas.
It was a shot out of nowhere! Huni rolled around and made it to his feet, but he was in
no position to continue. And as sluggish as Wardley looked in this fight (more
on him in the Round of the Year), as the old saying goes, "a puncher only
needs to be right once." This was the proof.
Brian Norman had already caused
damage earlier in his fight against Jin Sasaki (the bout was for a vacant
welterweight title). Norman had knocked Sasaki down twice in the first round
with left hooks. And although Norman had continued to get the better of the
action in the fight, by the fifth round Sasaki was still firing power
punches and giving it his best.
At 2:23 left in the round, Sasaki
landed a jab to the body and then froze, standing right in front of Norman,
admiring his work. Norman, taking advantage of the opportunity, fired off a
leaping left hook. The force of the punch was so severe that Sasaki's body hit
the canvas first and then a second time when his head hit the canvas.
The fight was immediately waved off, a ferocious shot with devastating
consequences.
Previous SNB Knockouts of the
Year:
- 2024: Jesse Rodriguez KO 7 Juan Estrada
- 2023: Junto Nakatani KO 12 Andrew Moloney
- 2022: Leigh Wood TKO 12 Michael Conlan
- 2021: Gabe Rosado KO 3 Bektemir Melikuziev
- 2020: (tie) Alexander Povetkin KO 5 Dillian Whyte and Gervonta Davis KO 6 Leo Santa Cruz
- 2019: Nonito Donaire KO 6 Stephon Young
- 2018: Naoya Inoue KO 1 Juan Carlos Payano
- 2017: Zolani Tete KO 1 Siboniso Gonya
- 2016: Hassan N'Dam KO 1 Alfonso Blanco
- 2015: Yenifel Vincente KO 3 Juan Dominguez
- 2014: Andy Lee KO 5 John Jackson
- 2013: Stephen Smith KO 5 Gary Buckland
- 2012: Juan Manuel Marquez KO 6 Manny Pacquiao
- 2011: Takashi Uchiyama TKO 11 Jorge Solis
Round of the Year: Joseph
Parker-Fabio Wardley Round 10
Through nine rounds the
Parker-Wardley heavyweight fight providing thrilling action with both fighters
buzzed or shaken up in the early rounds. Parker had advantages with punch
variety and combinations while Wardley had success with single straight rights,
uppercuts and at points with his jab. By the end of the ninth,
Parker was in the lead and was starting to assert himself on a more
consistent basis. Although he couldn't
get Wardley to the canvas, he was landing hard shots and banking rounds.
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| Wardley (left) and Parker in a thrilling round Photo courtesy of Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions |
With 2:08 left in the 10th round, Parker landed a scorching lead right. Though Wardley had kept a poker face earlier in the fight after being hit with big shots, he couldn't maintain his stoic demeaner here. He immediately took a step back after the shot and then he clinched. He was hurt. For the next 20 seconds Wardley didn't throw a punch as Parker continued to land power punches.
At 48 seconds left in the round,
Parker connected with a blistering counter right hand that stood Wardley up and then
followed it up with another stinging right. He then went to more straight
rights, right hooks from close range, and right haymakers. He was emptying the kitchen
sink.
At the 29-second mark, Wardley, landed a jab and then connected with a low right hand as Parker tried to slip underneath. Parker had been ducking punches low and to his left all fight and Wardley exploited this pattern; Parker wound up ducking right into the shot. Immediately after the punch landed, Parker retreated to the ropes.
Wardley then let his hands go
and landed a crushing right uppercut with Parker near the ropes. The shot drove
Parker from one set of ropes to another. His legs now looked like jelly.
Wardley ended the round battering Parker along the ropes, a huge reversal of
fortune in a round with bombs flying from both.
Wardley went on to stop Parker in
the 11th as Parker was never able to regain his legs. Wardley teed off on Parker who was stuck along the ropes. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight when Parker
wasn't throwing enough back. Finally, it should also be noted that Parker
failed a post-fight drug test for cocaine. Although that does sully what came
before to a degree, this was still the round of boxing in 2025 I enjoyed the most.
Previous SNB Rounds of the
Year:
- 2024: Tyson Koki-Deok No Yun I Round 1
- 2023: O'Shaquie Foster-Eduardo Hernandez Round 11
- 2022: Mauricio Lara-Emilio Sanchez Round 3
- 2021: Kenshiro Teraji-Masamichi Yabuki Round 9
- 2020: Jose Zepeda-Ivan Baranchyk Round 5
- 2019: Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz Round 3
- 2018: Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury Round 12
- 2017: Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko Round 5
- 2016: Edwin Rodriguez-Thomas Williams Jr. Round 2
- 2015: Edwin Rodriguez-Michael Seals Round 1
- 2014: Thomas Williams Jr.-Cornelius White Round 1
- 2013: Tim Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov Round 12
- 2012: Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Round 12
- 2011: Hernan Marquez-Luis Concepcion I Round 1
Upset of the Year: Lewis
Crocker SD Paddy Donovan
When these two first fought in March, Donovan consistently got the better of the action with flashier hand speed, straighter punches, and combinations. But referee Marcus McDonnell had it in for Donovan; he had taken two points from him in a fight where both guys were fouling a lot. Donovan knocked Crocker down in the eighth and it looked like that would be the end, but Donovan did hit Crocker when he was on the canvas. McDonnell took that opportunity to disqualify Donovan, turning a sure win into a devastating loss.
When the rematch was announced,
perhaps only Crocker's most fervent believers thought that he stood a good
chance of winning. Prior to the stoppage in the first fight, he was down by six
points, six points, and two points on the three cards. There appeared to be a
clear talent gap.
However, trainer Billy Nelson and Crocker came up with a brilliant game plan for the rematch. Instead of being the aggressor and providing Donovan with countering opportunities, Crocker instead played the counterpuncher himself and forced Donovan to commit with lead shots. The strategy worked to perfection as Crocker was able to time Donovan with counter left hooks in the third and fifth rounds to score knockdowns. Nelson and Crocker were able to key in on a flaw of Donovan's: so many of his jabs were non-committal. They were set-up punches thrown without conviction.
But in truth, very little
happened during many rounds of the fight, with both boxers ultimately being gun shy
to commit to leading. Despite two knockdowns, Crocker didn't have many rounds where he was the clear victor. In a battle of low output, the
rounds were very tough to score.
When the fight ended, many
scoring in the arena or at home thought that Donovan had won enough rounds to
overcome the two knockdowns. But the judges didn't. Crocker, fighting at home
in Belfast, won by 114-112, 114-113 and 111-115. No judge thought that he had won seven
rounds in the fight, but it was still enough. And in fight that had so little
action, it was tough for me to consider the outcome a robbery. If Donovan felt
hard done by the decision, he could have been a lot busier and more
decisive with his output.
Crocker winning the
rematch was a scenario that I didn't see coming whatsoever. But with a solid game
plan, moments of sublime execution, and an indecisive opponent,
Crocker did enough to pull off the monumental upset.
Previous SNB Upsets of the
Year:
- 2024: Bruno Surace KO 6 Jaime Munguia
- 2023: Brian Mendoza KO 7 Sebastian Fundora
- 2022: Hector Luis Garcia UD Chris Colbert
- 2021: George Kambosos SD Teofimo Lopez
- 2020: Robert Helenius TKO 4 Adam Kownacki
- 2019: Andy Ruiz TKO 7 Anthony Joshua
- 2018: Rob Brant UD Ryota Murata
- 2017: Caleb Truax MD James DeGale
- 2016: Joe Smith Jr. KO 1 Andrzej Fonfara
- 2015: Tyson Fury UD Wladimir Klitschko
- 2014: (tie) James de la Rosa UD Alfredo Angulo and Tommy Karpency SD Chad Dawson
- 2013: Jhonny Gonzalez KO 1 Abner Mares
- 2012: Sonny Boy Jaro TKO 6 Pongsaklek Wongjongkam
Trainer of the Year: Shingo
Inoue
Although boxing fans are more familiar with Shingo's other son, Naoya, Shingo did his best work of the year with Takuma.
Attempting to become a two-time bantamweight world titlist, Takuma was facing
the wildly popular Tenshin Nasukawa.
On the surface, Nasukawa had
significant advantages in power, size, and athleticism and entered the fight as
the betting favorite. But Inoue had more experience, better boxing fundamentals,
and quicker punches. Nasukawa started off the fight well and seemed to be the
superior talent. However, Takuma and Shingo were able to turn the tide. Their adjustments centered on shorter punches and keeping things up
the middle as they observed that Nasukawa lacked a solid defensive construct. Takuma would win the fight by a unanimous decision, eventually dominating a fight that had started off badly for him.
As for Naoya, he fought four times this year and scored two knockouts. Most memorably he was dropped by the
unheralded Ramon Cardenas in May. Although Inoue was able to stop Cardenas, it was clear that he and Shingo had a discussion about how they
should be fighting moving forward. Naoya subsequently beat Murodjon Akhmadaliev
and Alan Picasso via dominant displays of boxing. Instead of the swashbuckling
Naoya, he was now more disciplined, letting his considerable natural boxing skills take over.
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| Naoya Inoue after being dropped by Cardenas Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams/Top Rank |
This was a drastic departure for Naoya and I'm sure that Shingo emphasized the need to tighten up the defense and not force the action. Shingo deserves a lot of credit for helping to correct mistakes and seeing a new way forward. Shingo had an exemplary year, showcasing why he's the father of champions.
Previous SNB Trainers of the
Year:
- 2024: Robert Garcia
- 2023: Brian McIntyre et al.
- 2022: Derrick James
- 2021: Eddy Reynoso
- 2020: Teofimo Lopez Sr.
- 2019: Eddy Reynoso
- 2018: Anatoly Lomachenko
- 2017: Derrick James
- 2016: Shane McGuigan
- 2015: Peter Fury
- 2014: Freddie Roach
- 2013: Kenny Porter
- 2012: Robert McCracken
- 2011: Robert Garcia
Promoter of the Year: Turki
Alalshikh
Alalshikh expanded his influence in the sport in 2025. In addition to Riyadh Season, Alalshikh created the Ring Magazine fight card brand, which featured high-profile fights in various jurisdictions around the world. He promoted the biggest boxing event of the year with Canelo-Crawford and made a strategic investment in Zuffa Boxing. He was behind many of the best or most important fights of the year, including Beterbiev-Bivol 2, Usyk-Dubois 2, Norman-Haney, Mason-Noakes, Stevenson-Zepeda, Nakatani-Hernandez, and more.
In addition to events where
Alalshikh was expressly mentioned as the promoter, he also bankrolled
several other notable fights that were nominally promoted by others. His influence continues to grow in the
sport.
Previous SNB Promoters of the
Year:
- 2024: Riyadh Season
- 2023: TGB Promotions in conjunction with PBC
- 2022: No Award Given
- 2021: Premier Boxing Champions
- 2020: Top Rank
- 2019: Matchroom Boxing
- 2018: Premier Boxing Champions
- 2017: K2 Promotions
- 2016: Matchroom Boxing
- 2015: Golden Boy Promotions
- 2014: Matchroom Boxing
- 2013: (tie) Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank
- 2012: Golden Boy Promotions
- 2011: Top Rank
Network of the Year: DAZN
DAZN now has many of the biggest
promoters on its network. Featuring a stable that includes Matchroom, Golden
Boy, Queensberry, Riyadh Season and the Ring Magazine cards, the service has
become a must-have for boxing fans. In addition, DAZN has wisely
invested in several other promoters, including MVP, Salita, Red Owl, Overtime
and more, providing exposure for emerging talent in the sport, both from a
promotional and fighter perspective.
Not everything is going
swimmingly for the network though. They introduced a new pricing structure of
over $400 per year that includes their pay per view product. Although one can
squint hard and see value in the offering, that's a lot of bread compared to other sporting and entertainment options. They are going to need to work hard to make that new pricing tier viable. In a perfect world they would make some broadcast changes
too.
But as boxing goes, DAZN has
become a centralized hub for the sport. And that is the most important thing.
They went from being a well-funded upstart to the home of boxing's big events in quick fashion. That's a job well done.
Previous SNB Networks of the
Year:
- 2024: DAZN
- 2023: Showtime
- 2022: ESPN
- 2021: Showtime
- 2020: ESPN
- 2019: DAZN
- 2018: Showtime
- 2017: Showtime
- 2016: Sky Sports
- 2015: No award given
- 2014: ESPN
- 2013: Showtime
- 2012: BoxNation
Referee of the Year: Katsuhiro
Nakamura
Quick stoppages happen often. A referee will stop a fight even when a hurt fighter appears to be able to continue or is defending himself/herself properly. Unfortunately, it's a common occurrence in the sport.
But let's congratulate a referee who at first glance appeared to stop a fight too
early but ultimately proved to be 100% right in his decision
making. Nakamura is one of the busiest referees in Japan and is also an
official who gets international assignments. With the ending of Kenshiro
Teraji-Seigo Yuri Akui, you can see why he is highly regarded.
In a terrific, grueling and
fast-paced fight between two flyweight champs, Teraji hurt Akui at the beginning
of the 12th. Now keep in mind, neither fighter had been down previously in the
fight and Akui was very competitive throughout the matchup. It was not a fight
where Teraji was gradually getting the better of the action and/or pulling away.
In fact, it was Teraji who needed to do something dramatic in the 12th.
After hurting Akui early in the round with a lead right hand, Teraji followed up with menacing body shots as Akui was stuck on the ropes. Akui was able to escape but didn't look great
on his feet. However, he was still throwing punches and evading shots. Moments later in the round, Teraji
connected with a right hand during an exchange. The punch didn't even appear to be a particularly huge shot, but Nakamura abruptly ended the fight.
In real time it looked like a quick stoppage, but as soon as it was called off, it was clear that Akui was in bad shape. He needed
assistance in getting back to his corner and then collapsed. There was no
protesting the stoppage, just immediate attention given to the hurt fighter.
Nakamura clearly observed that something was off with Akui, even if the fans couldn't necessarily see the same thing from the camera angle on the broadcast. Whether it was a facial expression,
a problem with his legs, or something else, whatever it was, Nakamura was right on it. It turned
out to be the perfect call. Yes, Akui was moments away from possibly winning the biggest fight of his career, but Nakamura made the correct call to project the fighter who needed protecting. It was a gutsy decision and a
fine example of refereeing at its best.
Previous SNB Referees of the
Year:
- 2024: Thomas Taylor
- 2023: No award given
- 2022: David Fields
- 2021: Mark Lyson
- 2020: Michiaki Someya
- 2019: No award given
- 2018: Jack Reiss
- 2017: David Fields
- 2016: Raul Caiz Sr.
- 2015: David Fields
- 2014: Steve Smoger
- 2013: Tony Weeks
- 2012: Eddie Claudio
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