Boxing year-end awards 2025: Best fighter, knockout, event and more

As another year of boxing comes to an end, it’s the perfect moment to look back on 2025 and reflect on what kept us in love with a sport that, at times, can frustrate and disappoint.

We’ve seen undisputed-title fights at various weights, with Oleksandr Usyk reclaiming that status at heavyweight – only to give it up for the second time in a year – and Terence Crawford making history as this era’s only three-weight undisputed king, a feat that gave way to his retirement.

There have been major domestic events in Britain, too, such as Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn’s pair of grudge matches, the first of which delivered on the bitterness and hype, and the second of which saw Benn earn revenge.

And crossover boxing has continued to thrive, to the dismay of many traditionalist fans, with December bringing a bout between Anthony Joshua and YouTuber Jake Paul and a fight featuring controversial influencer Andrew Tate.

Those latter fights do not feature below, mind, as we delve into the best of boxing in 2025 – and make a bold prediction for 2026...

Jack Rathborn: Terence Crawford. Before retiring this month, Crawford produced a masterclass against Canelo Alvarez in September, catapulting up in weight while retaining that trademark majestic movement and supreme control to upset the odds and become a three-weight undisputed champion. That final piece, unprecedented in men’s boxing in the four-belt era, is the final bauble on a glistening tree of accolades that forces his name into the conversation of greatest of his generation.