The Ring has named Terence Crawford and Mizuki Hiruta as its Fighters of the Year for 2025, following the magazine’s annual awards ceremony held on Friday.
Crawford earned the honor on the strength of a single, extraordinary performance. Moving up two weight classes, he defeated undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, becoming the first fighter in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed status in three weight classes. It was a defining victory that separated Crawford from a strong field of nominees that included Dmitry Bivol, Naoya Inoue, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Fabio Wardley.
Hiruta was recognized for her consistency and activity, logging four successful title defenses in 2025 - the most among female world champions. The WBO junior bantamweight titleholder defeated Maribel Hernandez, Carla Merino, Naomy Cardenas and Gloria Gallardo, while also capturing the vacant Ring title at 115lbs. Her résumé edged out fellow nominees Evelin Bermudez, Mikaela Mayer, Ellie Scotney and Katie Taylor.
The Ring also named the first Chris Eubank Jr–Conor Benn fight as Fight of the Year, while Brian Norman Jr’s fifth-round knockout of Jin Sasaki earned Knockout of the Year. Shingo Inoue was awarded Trainer of the Year for guiding both Naoya Inoue and Takuma Inoue to championship success.
Additional honors included Jose Armando Resendiz’s split decision win over Caleb Plant as Upset of the Year, the ninth round of Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Daigo Higa as Round of the Year, and Emiliano Vargas being named Prospect of the Year after a perfect four-win campaign in 2025.
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