Many people seem to believe that a boxer must have multiple fights to be considered Fighter of the Year.
We do not. Sometimes a single victory is so monumental that it carries more weight than even two or three major victories by rivals. That’s how it was when we selected our 2023 award winner.
Naoya Inoue had an incredible year, knocking out Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales to become undisputed second division champion. Devin Haney surpassed Vasiliy Lomachenko and Regis Prograis in points. David Benavidez dominated two excellent boxers, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade. And Gervonta Davis knocked out two undefeated Garcías, Héctor Luis and Ryan.
All of those stars had solid credentials for Fighter of the Year. However, his achievements did not compare to what Terence Crawford did on July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Crawford fought Errol Spence Jr. in the biggest showdown of the year, a matchup between two pound-for-pound unbeatens (Crawford No. 1 and Spence No. 4 on Boxing Junkie’s list) for the undisputed welterweight championship.
It brought back memories of great 147-pound matchups from the past, including Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns and Felix Trinidad vs. Oscar De La Hoya. It was historic.
In the end, however, it wasn’t competitive as Crawford turned a 50-50 matchup on paper into a surprising mismatch in the ring.
Crawford was nothing short of spectacular, knocking Spence down three times, knocking him down and knocking him out in the ninth round of what was arguably his coronation as the greatest fighter in the post-Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao era.
He also became the first undisputed welterweight champion in the four-belt era and the first man to win all four major belts in a second division, adding to the weight of his achievement.
Do you see why Crawford was an obvious choice for 2023 Fighter of the Year?
“Man, I’m so blessed,” Crawford said in the ring after his victory. “I swear, I swear, like I said before, I always dreamed of being world champion. I am a winner. Nobody believed in me when I was growing up.
“I made everyone a believer.”
In fact, he did. And he started in the second round.
That’s when, with about 20 seconds left, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) floored Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) with a right jab that looked like a power punch. Spence got back to his feet and was not seriously injured, but Crawford was just getting started.
From that moment on, the winner was in complete control, coldly and methodically destroying an opponent many believed to be his equal before the long-awaited showdown.
The fight was already slipping away from Spence in the seventh round, during which Crawford dropped him twice, first with a counter about a minute into the round and then with a right hook in the final seconds. The end, it seemed, was near.
Crawford stung Spence midway through the ninth round and then unleashed the fiercest assault you’ve ever seen in the ring. Spence somehow stayed on his feet, but received a terrible punishment, enough to convince referee Harvey Dock to end the massacre.
It was a performance for the ages given Spence’s perception at the time, what was at stake and Crawford’s complete dominance. No one else could match his achievement.
