The Sugar Ray Robinson Award, known alternatively as the Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year Award and previously known as the Edward J. Neil Trophy, has been conferred annually since 1938 by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
History The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) first presented the trophy in 1938. The original purpose of the trophy was to recognize "an individual who did the most for boxing in the previous year."
The ** mark indicates the boxer was not active in the year he actually won the award. Over time, the award went strictly to the best fighter of each year as decided by the BWAA. The members of the BWAA vote to decide the best boxer each year regardless of weight class or nationality.
The award was previously named for Edward J. Neil, an Associated Press sportswriter and war correspondent who was killed in 1938 while reporting on the Spanish Civil War.About the BWAA The 2009 award was renamed after boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson. The "Fighter of the Year" award is presented with other honors given by the BWAA at an annual awards dinner.
Starting with the 1990s, the BWAA also began to give an award for "Joe Louis Fighter of the Decade." The winners of this award are listed in a separate section.
Past recipients 1930s 1938 – Jack Dempsey** 1939 – Billy Conn
1940s 1940 – Henry Armstrong 1941 – Joe Louis 1942 – Barney Ross** 1943 – Boxers of the Armed Forces 1944 – Benny Leonard** 1945 – James J. Walker** 1946 – Tony Zale 1947 – Gus Lesnevich 1948 – Ike Williams 1949 – Ezzard Charles
1950s 1950 – Sugar Ray Robinson 1951 – Jersey Joe Walcott 1952 – Rocky Marciano 1953 – Kid Gavilán 1954 – Bobo Olson 1955 – Carmen Basilio 1956 – Floyd Patterson 1957 – Carmen Basilio 1958 – Archie Moore 1959 – Ingemar Johansson
1960s 1960 – Floyd Patterson 1961 – Gene Fullmer 1962 – Dick Tiger 1963 – Emile Griffith 1964 – Willie Pastrano 1965 – Muhammad Ali 1966 – Dick Tiger 1967 – Carlos Ortiz 1968 – Bob Foster 1969 – Joe Frazier
1970s 1970 – Ken Buchanan 1971 – Joe Frazier 1972 – Carlos Monzón 1973 – George Foreman 1974 – Muhammad Ali 1975 – Muhammad Ali , Joe Frazier 1976 – Howard Davis Jr., Leo Randolph, Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks 1977 – Ken Norton 1978 – Larry Holmes 1979 – Sugar Ray Leonard
1980s 1980 – Thomas Hearns 1981 – Sugar Ray Leonard 1982 – Aaron Pryor 1983 – Marvin Hagler 1984 – Thomas Hearns 1985 – Marvin Hagler 1986 – Mike Tyson 1987 – Julio César Chávez 1988 – Mike Tyson 1989 – Pernell Whitaker
1990s 1990 – Evander Holyfield 1991 – James Toney 1992 – Riddick Bowe 1993 – Pernell Whitaker 1994 – George Foreman 1995 – Oscar De La Hoya 1996 – Evander Holyfield 1997 – Evander Holyfield 1998 – Shane Mosley 1999 – Lennox Lewis
2000s 2000 – Félix Trinidad 2001 – Bernard Hopkins 2002 – Vernon Forrest 2003 – James Toney 2004 – Glen Johnson 2005 – Ricky Hatton 2006 – Manny Pacquiao 2007 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. 2008 – Manny Pacquiao 2009 – Manny Pacquiao
2010s 2010 – Sergio Martínez 2011 – Andre Ward 2012 – Nonito Donaire 2013 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. 2014 – Terence Crawford 2015 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. 2016 – Carl Frampton 2017 – Vasyl Lomachenko 2018 – Oleksandr Usyk 2019 – Canelo Alvarez
2020s 2020 – Teófimo López 2021 – Canelo Alvarez 2022 – Dmitry Bivol 2023 – Naoya Inoue 2024 – Oleksandr Usyk 2025 – Terence Crawford
Joe Louis Fighter of the Decade 1990s: Roy Jones Jr. 2000s: Manny Pacquiao 2010s: Floyd Mayweather Jr. See also The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year Best Boxer ESPY Award, and its successor Best Fighter ESPY Award
References
External links List of award winners. Boxing Writers Association of America official website