Full results of 2025 Ring Awards, held January 30, 2026 at Cipriani, New York, New York. Every result below is checked against the sources listed at the foot of the page.
Results
2025 award winners
| Award | Winner | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Fighter of the Year | Terence Crawford | Beat Canelo Álvarez for the undisputed super middleweight title, Sep 13, 2025 |
| Female Fighter of the Year | Mizuki Hiruta | |
| Fight of the Year | Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn (first fight) | |
| Knockout of the Year | Brian Norman Jr. | Fifth-round KO of Jin Sasaki, Tokyo, Jun 19, 2025 |
| Upset of the Year | Jose Armando Resendiz | Split decision over Caleb Plant |
| Round of the Year | Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Daigo Higa | Round 9 |
| Prospect of the Year | Emiliano Vargas | |
| Trainer of the Year | Shingo Inoue |
Fighter of the Year finalists
| Finalist |
|---|
| Terence Crawford (winner) |
| Dmitry Bivol |
| Naoya Inoue |
| Jesse Rodriguez |
| Fabio Wardley |
What happened
The Ring‘s 2025 awards, presented at its second annual gala at Cipriani in New York, went where almost everyone expected: Terence Crawford was Fighter of the Year for his decision win over Canelo Álvarez, which made him undisputed super middleweight champion two weight classes above his previous peak. He retired later in 2025, so the award doubles as a farewell.
The other choices: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn won Fight of the Year for their first meeting, Brian Norman Jr.’s fifth-round knockout of Jin Sasaki in Tokyo won Knockout of the Year ahead of Fabio Wardley over Justis Huni and Oleksandr Usyk over Daniel Dubois, and Jose Armando Resendiz’s split decision over Caleb Plant was Upset of the Year.
Our take
Crawford was the only defensible Fighter of the Year. Shingo Inoue as Trainer of the Year is a deserved recognition of the team behind Naoya Inoue’s unbeaten run, and Mizuki Hiruta’s win in the women’s category reflects how strong the Japanese scene was in 2025. The Ring’s Fighter of the Year has been awarded since 1928, making it the sport’s oldest honour.
Sources: Boxing Scene: The Ring names its Fighters of the Year · The Ring: Brian Norman secures top KO. Facts verified Oct 18, 2026.