2025 Fighter of the Year Candidates: Analysis and Perspectives
With four months left until the end of the 2025 boxing calendar, the race for Fighter of the Year remains open. Throughout the year, we have witnessed notable performances, from Oleksandr Usyk’s resounding victory over Daniel Dubois to Dmitry Bivol’s victorious rematch against Artur Beterbiev, which earned him the undisputed light heavyweight championship. However, a performance that stands out above the rest has not yet been defined.
There are still important fights scheduled for this year, which could change the landscape and establish a clear contender. The fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Álvarez for the undisputed super middleweight championship stands out. In addition, several other boxers have the opportunity to finish the year strong and consolidate their position.
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 Fighter of the Year?
Terence Crawford
If Crawford defeats Canelo Álvarez, his only fight of the year could be enough. Moving up two weight classes to defeat Canelo, a pound-for-pound reference, and becoming undisputed champion in three divisions, would have more value than any other achievement of two or three fights.
Defeating Canelo, one of the greatest of all time, who has never lost at 168 pounds, would be a momentous achievement for Crawford. Let’s not forget that Crawford will turn 38 in September and is almost three years older than Canelo. Depending on how Crawford achieves victory, he would not only solidify his place as the fighter of the year, but could also lead to serious consideration of “Bud’s” place in boxing history.
Rolando “Rolly” Romero
After suffering knockout defeats to Gervonta “Tank” Davis in 2022 and Isaac Cruz in 2024, Romero seemed destined to be an opponent rather than a contender for Fighter of the Year. However, he surprised by defeating Ryan Garcia by unanimous decision in May and is on the list of potential opponents for Manny Pacquiao’s next fight.
Pacquiao’s manager, Sean Gibbons, has mentioned Romero and plans for the Filipino legend to return to the ring before the end of 2025. With the intention 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 signature left hook. If he were to defeat 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 focus on another opponent. The most logical fight for the undisputed super lightweight champion is a third fight with Cameron, the only boxer who has defeated Taylor in her professional career.
Cameron defeated Taylor by majority decision in May 2023 and lost a close decision in the rematch in November 2023. Given 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 devastating year, with knockouts over Ye Joon Kim and Ramon Cardenas, 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, has announced plans for a December fight card, where Inoue would defend his undisputed super featherweight championship against WBC mandatory challenger David Picasso. If Inoue achieves a 4-0 record with four knockouts this year, he could take the honors.
Moses Itauma
Itauma, at just 20 years old, has gone from prospect to contender in the blink of an eye. His stunning first-round knockout victory over Dillian Whyte on August 16th was an astonishing example of his potential. Between the Whyte knockout and his 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 a return before the end of the year is very likely.
Itauma has mentioned a fight with Jermaine Franklin to gain experience. However, with Franklin now fighting on the Canelo-Crawford undercard, Itauma will have to look for another opponent, and a fight against a top 10 heavyweight could be the solution. Filip Hrgovic, who defeated David Adeleye on the Itauma-Whyte undercard, would be an option. Or Itauma could seek a fight with former interim champion Zhilei Zhang. If Itauma manages a fight and wins against any top-level heavyweight, it will be difficult to exclude him from the conversation.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez
Rodriguez added to his collection of belts in the smaller weight categories in 2025 with an impressive knockout victory in the tenth round over Phumelele Cafu in July, becoming WBO super flyweight champion. He already held the WBC title. Rodriguez, 25, continues to impress in his young career and is scheduled to face IBF title holder Martinez in November on The Ring IV card, headlined by David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde.
The way Rodriguez continues to defeat his opponents is incredibly striking, and he will have the opportunity to take the undefeated status from another boxer and get closer to being undisputed at 115 pounds. Much would have to go his way, aside from winning this fight, for Rodriguez to get the Fighter of the Year award, 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 questioned, and his exciting battle with Zepeda in July silenced the detractors who claim Stevenson’s fights are boring. He has been looking for fights with Gervonta Davis and Teofimo López. With Davis committed to a fight with Jake Paul and López 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 going to face each other in February, but Schofield had to withdraw due to illness. Schofield made an important return 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 when it was originally scheduled. Stevenson could also seek a fight with IBF super lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins, or compete in a 135-pound unification fight against IBF title holder Raymond Muratalla. Neither of those fights would make Stevenson the favorite to be the fighter of the year, but if he offers another dazzling performance, you never know.
