WHILE 2024 has seen some terrific performances from individuals, one man stands out at the top as Fighter of the Year. Beating Tyson Fury not once but twice in the same year secured Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight status: the unshakeable king of an era.
First in May, Usyk defeated Fury by split decision, dropping the Manchester man in round nine. Then, at the tail end of the year, back in Saudi, Usyk repeated the trick with a unanimous verdict. It wasn’t as exciting, but it was a functional display by the reigning champion.
An outstanding culmination of a journey that started low-key, ended up taking to the road and gathered consistency and momentum as it went on. Silencing the doubters (yes, they do still exist) punch by punch, fight by fight, Usyk is now in the conversation with history’s greatest heavyweights.
The Boxing News readers agreed: “Becoming the undisputed champ and winning the rematch all while handling himself wonderfully as a human both inside and outside the ring,” said one.
Contributing to the overall 74.8 per cent in favour of Usyk, another added, “Beat Tyson Fury in May for Undisputed and beat him again in the rematch in December. Dubois was a close second, but the quality in opposition bettered by Usyk just gets it over the line for my vote in Usyk’s favour.”
Joining Usyk in the top three for BN Fighter of the Year is Daniel Dubois, who scaled 9.2 per cent of the vote following victories over Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua.
Sliding in at third, with six per cent of the totals came Artur Beterbiev who unified all of the gold at 175 pounds, defeating rival Dmitry Bivol. They run it back in February.
Fresh off the back of his Fighter of the Year award-winning effort, Oleksandr Usyk was also involved in the Fight of the Year following his epic first clash with Tyson Fury in May.
32.1 per cent of Boxing News readers voted the Riyadh rumble as their favourite, with one reasoning, “There was back and forth drama throughout the fight. Also Fury was seriously hurt for the first time in his career in round 9.”
That heavyweight slugfest just edged out a domestic dust-up between two big men as Fabio Wardley drew with Frazer Clarke after 12 intense sessions. 30.3 per cent favoured that scrap, while six per cent enjoyed the 140-pound clash between Vergil Ortiz Jr and Serhii Bohachuk.
“Bohachuk with his “Chopping Wood” approach made it a war for Ortiz who got dropped twice in this fight. All out action, though the Decision is controversial in some sorts. Best fight this year and hopefully we get a rematch sometime in 2025. Take my money for the rematch right now!!!” buzzed one of the voters.
There was an overwhelming choice for Prospect of the Year as heavy-handed Moses Itauma reminded everyone of his prowess with a first-round smashing of Demsey McKean.
“Future champ 100%,” suggested one reader, while another said, “19 years old, being matched as well as can be at this point. Devastating performances.”
Itauma snatched a strong 66.5 per cent of the votes, while Abdullah Mason recorded 13.3 per cent. His up-and-down undercard classic with Yohan Vasquez (below) was well-regarded. Things were slightly more straightforward for world title aspirant Adam Azim, who came in third with 7.3 per cent.
Daniel Dubois’ fifth-round shelling of Anthony Joshua came out on top of Knockout of the Year with 62.4 per cent of the votes. “One of the biggest upsets in recent history, every body doubted Dubois but he wasn’t having none of it. He went in there and made AJ look like an amateur. Scary power from Dynamite Dubois,” opined a BN reader.
That effort was followed by Gervonta Davis’ blast out of Frank Martin (10.1 per cent), tied with Lucas Bahdi’s thrilling come-from-behind blast of prospect Ashton Sylve (also 10.1 per cent).
Katie Taylor grabbed Female Fighter of the Year, claiming 54.6 per cent. Her generational rival Amanda Serrano was third (11.9 per cent), with Gabriela Fundora (13.8 per cent) sandwiched in between.
Taylor’s rematch win over Serrano was a resounding winner (85.8 per cent) of Female Fight of the Year, leaving Mikaela Mayer’s win over Sandy Ryan (8.3 per cent) and Fundora’s KO of Gabriela Celeste Alaniz (2.3 per cent) lagging behind.
Female Prospect of the Year was closely contested as Sumire Yamanaka (34.4 per cent) fended off Sarah Liegmann (24.3 per cent) and Krystal Rosado-Ortiz (22.5 per cent).
There was plenty of love for the inaugural five-versus-five in Saudi as Event of the Year. Even though Beterbiev-Bivol fell off, the five-versus-five still totalled 37.2 per cent, ahead of the eventually rescheduled battle for light-heavyweight undisputed (22 per cent) and Fury vs. Usyk I (19.7 per cent).
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez’s coach, Robert Garcia, picked up Trainer of the Year with 33.5 per cent. Shane McGuigan’s (below) efforts earned him second place with 21.6 per cent. Ben Davison hit third with 16. 5 per cent.
Daniel Dubois’ thumping of Anthony Joshua was enough to secure British Fighter of the Year. The Queensberry man’s 48.6 per cent pushed him ahead of world title winner Nick Ball (24.8 per cent) and Jack Catterall (10.6 per cent).
Fabio Wardley’s draw with Frazer Clarke was voted British Fight of the Year. Ekow Essuman’s win over Owen Cooper and Lewis Crocker’s victory over Conah Walker were both highly commended.
Caroline Dubois emerged as British Female Fighter of the Year, followed by Lauren Price. Natasha Jonas’ win over Mikaela Mayer was right at the start of 2024 but well remembered by readers who voted it British Female Fight of the Year ahead of Lauren Price’s win over Jessica McCaskill.
