As we delve into the final four months of the 2025 boxing calendar, the competition for the coveted Fighter of the Year title remains open. Despite outstanding performances, such as Oleksandr Usyk’s resounding victory over Daniel Dubois and Dmitry Bivol’s victorious rematch against Artur Beterbiev, a clear favorite that stands out above the rest is not yet in sight.
However, the landscape could change drastically, as there are still important fights scheduled for this year. Among them, the confrontation between Terence Crawford and Canelo Álvarez for the undisputed super middleweight championship stands out. In addition, several boxers have the opportunity to finish the year strong and consolidate their candidacy for the award.
Below, we analyze some of the already announced fights and the boxers expected to compete again before the end of the year. What will they need to achieve to secure their place as Alofoke Deportes’ Fighter of the Year?
Terence Crawford
While this would be Crawford’s only fight of the year, moving up two weight classes to beat Canelo Álvarez, a pound-for-pound reference, and becoming undisputed champion in three divisions, would have a higher value than any other achievement. Beating Canelo, a great who has never lost at 168 pounds, would be a revealing milestone for Crawford, who will turn 38 in September and is almost three years older than his opponent.
Depending on how Crawford achieves victory, he would not only solidify his position as Fighter of the Year, but would also position him as one of the best boxers of all time.
Rolando “Rolly” Romero
After suffering knockout defeats to Gervonta “Tank” Davis in 2022 and Isaac Cruz in 2024, Romero seemed relegated to the role of opponent. However, he surprised by defeating Ryan Garcia by unanimous decision in May and is on the list of potential rivals for Manny Pacquiao for his next fight.
Pacquiao’s manager, Sean Gibbons, has mentioned Romero and aims for the Filipino legend to return to the ring before the end of 2025. With the ambition of breaking his own record as the oldest boxer to become a welterweight champion (Pacquiao turns 47 on December 17), a fight with Romero, WBA champion, makes a lot of sense.
As for the fight itself, Romero still possesses great punching power and looked imposing against Garcia. Although the fight with Garcia was not a spectacle, Romero demonstrated some new skills and defended incredibly well against Garcia’s characteristic left hook. If he were to beat Pacquiao, he would have arguments to aspire to the prize.
Katie Taylor
After closing the trilogy with Amanda Serrano with a clear victory by decision in July, Taylor can finally focus on another opponent. The fight that makes the most sense for the undisputed super lightweight champion is a third fight with Cameron, the only boxer who has defeated Taylor in her professional career.
The fight is easy to arrange, as Cameron signed a deal with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and debuted as a promoter on the Taylor-Serrano 3 card, with a unanimous decision victory over Jessica Camara.
Cameron defeated Taylor by majority decision in May 2023 and lost a close decision in the rematch in November 2023. Considering the close nature of the first two encounters, a third fight is the obvious option. If Taylor achieves an impressive victory, it would be difficult to ignore her in the conversation for the Fighter of the Year award.
Naoya Inoue
“The Monster” has had a spectacular year, with knockout victories over Ye Joon Kim and Ramón Cárdenas, and will fight his third bout of 2025 against Akhmadaliev on September 14. While a victory over “MJ” alone might not make Inoue the clear Fighter of the Year, a fourth fight in 2025 would certainly put him in the conversation.
Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced plans for a December fight card featuring Inoue defending his undisputed super featherweight championship against WBC mandatory challenger David Picasso, who is coming off a majority decision victory against Kyonosuke Kameda on the Pacquiao-Mario Barrios undercard.
If Inoue achieves a 4-0 record with four knockouts this year, he could win the award.
Moses Itauma
Itauma, at just 20 years old, has gone from a prospect to a contender in the blink of an eye. His annihilation in the first round of Dillian Whyte on August 16th was a terrifying example of his potential. Between the knockout of Whyte and his rapid two-round victory over Mike Balogun in May, Itauma’s reputation in the heavyweight division is soaring. He has accumulated less than six minutes of fight time in 2025, and is very likely to return before the end of the year.
Itauma has mentioned a fight with the resilient Jermaine Franklin to accumulate rounds. However, since Franklin will now fight on the Canelo-Crawford undercard, Itauma will have to look for another opponent, and a fight against a top 10 heavyweight could be the option.
Filip Hrgovic, who defeated David Adeleye on the Itauma-Whyte undercard, makes a lot of sense as an opponent. Or Itauma could seek a fight with former interim champion Zhilei Zhang, who is coming off a knockout loss to Agit Kabayel in February. If Itauma manages a fight with any top-level heavyweight and wins, it will be difficult to exclude him from the conversation.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez
Rodríguez added to his collection of belts in the smaller weight categories in 2025 with an impressive technical knockout victory in the tenth round over Phumelele Cafu in July, to become WBO super flyweight world champion. He already held the WBC title. Rodríguez, 25, continues to impress in his young career and is scheduled to face IBF titleholder Martínez in November on the packed The Ring IV card, headlined by David Benavidez against Anthony Yarde.
The way Rodríguez keeps defeating his opponents is amazing, and he will have the opportunity to take the undefeated record from another boxer and get closer to becoming undisputed at 115 pounds. Many circumstances would have to occur, in addition to him winning this fight, for Rodríguez to take home the Fighter of the Year honors, but “Bam” is always in the conversation.
Shakur Stevenson
Stevenson has a 2-0 record in 2025 with dominant victories over Josh Padley and William Zepeda. His skill has never been in doubt, and his exciting battle with Zepeda in July silenced the detractors who claim that Stevenson’s fights are boring. He has been looking for fights with Gervonta Davis and Teofimo López. With Davis locked in for a fight with Jake Paul and López remaining silent after Stevenson called for the fight at 140 pounds, Stevenson’s options for a big fight to close out 2025 are limited.
There is always the possibility that he will resume the previously scheduled fight with Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield. They were supposed to face each other in February, but Schofield had to withdraw due to illness. Schofield returned in a big way in June when he defeated Tevin Farmer on the Jake Paul-Julio César Chávez Jr. undercard. A fight between Stevenson and Schofield would be much bigger now than it was when it was originally scheduled.
Stevenson could also pursue a fight with IBF super lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins, or compete in a 135-pound unification bout against IBF titleholder Raymond Muratalla. Neither of those fights would make Stevenson the favorite for Fighter of the Year, but if he delivers another dazzling performance, you never know.
