As the 2023 calendar year comes to a close, boxing fans can look back and honestly say that we had a very entertaining year of boxing events and individual performances, but now is the time when boxing fans will consider the question of who is the fighter of the year.
When you think of fighters who looked impressive inside the ring in 2023, you think of names like Devin Haney and Jesse “Bam” Rodríguez. However, when talking about the 2023 fighter of the year, that particular conversation comes down to two names: Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford.
On the night of August 19, 2017, Terence Crawford entered the ring as the WBC and WBO light welterweight champion. He would then defeat WBA and IBF champion Julius Indongo by third-round knockout and become the undisputed world champion in the 140-pound division.
Crawford would move up and win a world title in the welterweight division when he stopped Jeff Horn in the ninth round. Three months later, Crawford was involved in a backstage confrontation that captured the eyes and imaginations of many fight fans.
After the Maurice Hooker vs. Alex Saucedo fight, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr had a face-to-face backstage. The two fighters exchanged words and fight fans were instantly ready to see a clash between Spence and Crawford, but unfortunately, fans would have to wait five long years.
Finally, in July 2023, undefeated WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford faced undefeated WBA, WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence. The fight was a one-sided affair as Terence Crawford earned a ninth-round TKO victory.
With the victory, Terence “Bud” Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) became the first male boxer in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed status in two different weight classes. Thanks to his victory in the mega fight, Crawford’s name has been mentioned as Fighter of the Year.
His main competitor for Fighter of the Year honors is the man from Japan, Naoya “The Monster” Inoue. The undefeated four-division world champion notched two impressive victories in 2023.
In December 2022, unified bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue defeated WBO champion Paul Butler via 11th-round knockout to win the undisputed crown. A month later, Inoue relinquished his titles to move up to super bantamweight.
In his first fight in his new weight class, Inoue won the WBC and WBO belts when he defeated previously undefeated champion Stephen Fulton by eighth-round TKO. Inoue would conquer the division in his next fight by knocking out Marlon Tapales.
With his victory over Tapales, Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) became the second male boxer in the four-belt era to win the undisputed crown in two divisions. Terence Crawford did it in a period of six years, but Naoya Inoue achieved it in a period of 378 days.
Now that boxing’s calendar year has concluded, the question is, who is the boxer of the year for 2023? Is it Naoya Inoue or Terence Crawford? In Terence Crawford’s only in-ring appearance, he dismantled his archrival, who at the time was at the top of the pound-for-pound list.
On the other hand, Naoya Inoue gained weight and conquered the division by taking the undisputed crown in a period of five months. He won two belts when he defeated Stephen Fulton in July, and then Inoue proceeded to pick up the other two belts when he defeated Marlon Tapales in December.
When it comes to deciding the fighter of the year, it all depends on who weighs more. Does Terence Crawford’s win over Spence top Naoya Inoue’s two wins over two unified champions?
