There are so many things that go into a fight-of-the-year contender, but the title means different things to different people. Was it a high-class blend of styles, pitting elite boxers against one another, or was it just a balls-to-the-wall war? Do skill levels matter or is it merely about the entertainment factor? Do the fighters have to be world class? Were there knockdowns; momentum shifts; controversies? Was the fight an upset, thus adding high drama into the mix?
With this in mind, five separate fights were named fight of the year by BoxingScene staff members and they make up this list.
1. Chris Eubank w pts 12 Conor Benn (April 26)
In a wild fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn delivered 12 pulsating rounds of excitement in an action-packed encounter that involved them finally taking their rivalry into the ring some two years after they were first scheduled to meet, only for Benn to twice test positive for a banned substance. Their first fight over-delivered, living up to every ounce of the pre-fight hype and being every bit as violent as both had promised. They tried to do it again in November, but Benn won via a wide decision, with Eubank unable to escape first gear.
2. Kenshiro Teraji w tko 12 Seigo Yuri Akui (March 13)
Akui pushed then-WBC flyweight champion Teraji hard all the way through their bout but ultimately fell short of hearing the final bell and was stopped with less than 90 seconds in the bout remaining. It had been an exciting two-way battle, with both fighters having their moments, and it was split on the scorecards going into the crucial final round, making the ending all the more definitive, important and dramatic.
3. Dmitry Bivol w pts 12 Artur Beterbiev (February 22)
Once again, after their incredible contest in October 2024, the Russians went at it and there was again little to separate them. By the end of 12 wonderfully high-quality and even rounds in Saudi Arabia, it was Bivol who had his revenge and claimed the title as the top dog at 175lbs. The scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114 indicated how little there was between the two, and it appeared they were headed into a trilogy fight, but, thus far, that fight has not been delivered.
4. Christian Mbilli d pts 10 Lester Martinez (September 13)
There were many who felt this super-middleweight clash of unbeatens might steal the show in Las Vegas, the night Terence Crawford defeated Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the Allegiant Stadium, and while it didn’t take the shine off Crawford’s win, it clearly surpassed it as fight of the night and was one of the most thrilling of the year. Guatemalan Martinez was unfortunate to only earn a draw having punched with – and for many outpunched – the Canada-based Frenchman through 10 frenetic rounds.
5. Naoya Inoue w tko 8 Ramon Cardenas (May 4)
This fight at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena had almost everything. Courageous underdog Cardenas came to fight and, far from being overawed, bombed forwards and dropped the heavily-favored Japanese star with a left hook, and the upset-minded challenger for Inoue’s undisputed super-bantamweight titles wasn’t done there, as he proved when forcing Inoue into a firefight. In the end, the brilliant Inoue broke through in the eighth and forced the referee’s intervention with Cardenas trapped on the ropes and taking punishment.
Honorable mentions
Abdullah Mason-Sam Noakes; Fabio Wardley-Justis Huni; Fabio Wardley-Joseph Parker; Junto Nakatanti-Sebastian Hernandez; Callum Smith-Joshua Buatsi
