# The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year

The Ring magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Fighter of the Year since 1928, which this list covers. The award, selected by the magazine editors, is based on a boxer's performance in the ring.

## Award winners

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of times a boxer has won the award by that year.

### 1920s

* 1928: Gene Tunney
* 1929: Tommy Loughran

### 1930s

* 1930: Max Schmeling
* 1931: Tommy Loughran (2)
* 1932: Jack Sharkey
* 1933: no award given
* 1934: Tony Canzoneri and Barney Ross
* 1935: Barney Ross (2)
* 1936: Joe Louis
* 1937: Henry Armstrong
* 1938: Joe Louis (2)
* 1939: Joe Louis (3)

### 1940s

* 1940: Billy Conn
* 1941: Joe Louis (4)
* 1942: Sugar Ray Robinson
* 1943: Fred Apostoli
* 1944: Beau Jack
* 1945: Willie Pep
* 1946: Tony Zale
* 1947: Gus Lesnevich
* 1948: Ike Williams
* 1949: Ezzard Charles

### 1950s

* 1950: Ezzard Charles (2)
* 1951: Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
* 1952: Rocky Marciano
* 1953: Bobo Olson
* 1954: Rocky Marciano (2)
* 1955: Rocky Marciano (3)
* 1956: Floyd Patterson
* 1957: Carmen Basilio
* 1958: Ingemar Johansson
* 1959: Ingemar Johansson (2)

### 1960s

* 1960: Floyd Patterson (2)
* 1961: Joe Brown
* 1962: Dick Tiger
* 1963: Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
* 1964: Emile Griffith
* 1965: Dick Tiger (2)
* 1966: Muhammad Ali (2) (originally not awarded; retroactively awarded in 2016)
* 1967: Joe Frazier
* 1968: Nino Benvenuti
* 1969: José Nápoles

### 1970s

* 1970: Joe Frazier (2)
* 1971: Joe Frazier (3)
* 1972: Muhammad Ali (3) and Carlos Monzón
* 1973: George Foreman
* 1974: Muhammad Ali (4)
* 1975: Muhammad Ali (5)
* 1976: George Foreman (2)
* 1977: Carlos Zarate
* 1978: Muhammad Ali (6)
* 1979: Sugar Ray Leonard

### 1980s

* 1980: Thomas Hearns
* 1981: Sugar Ray Leonard (2) and Salvador Sánchez
* 1982: Larry Holmes
* 1983: Marvin Hagler
* 1984: Thomas Hearns (2)
* 1985: Marvin Hagler (2) and Donald Curry
* 1986: Mike Tyson
* 1987: Evander Holyfield
* 1988: Mike Tyson (2)
* 1989: Pernell Whitaker

### 1990s

* 1990: Julio César Chávez
* 1991: James Toney
* 1992: Riddick Bowe
* 1993: Michael Carbajal
* 1994: Roy Jones Jr.
* 1995: Oscar De La Hoya
* 1996: Evander Holyfield (2)
* 1997: Evander Holyfield (3)
* 1998: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
* 1999: Paulie Ayala

### 2000s

* 2000: Félix Trinidad
* 2001: Bernard Hopkins
* 2002: Vernon Forrest
* 2003: James Toney (2)
* 2004: Glen Johnson
* 2005: Ricky Hatton
* 2006: Manny Pacquiao
* 2007: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2)
* 2008: Manny Pacquiao (2)
* 2009: Manny Pacquiao (3)

### 2010s

* 2010: Sergio Martínez
* 2011: Andre Ward
* 2012: Juan Manuel Márquez
* 2013: Adonis Stevenson
* 2014: Sergey Kovalev
* 2015: Tyson Fury
* 2016: Carl Frampton
* 2017: Vasiliy Lomachenko
* 2018: Oleksandr Usyk
* 2019: Canelo Álvarez

### 2020s

* 2020: Tyson Fury (2) and Teófimo López
* 2021: Canelo Álvarez (2)
* 2022: Dmitry Bivol
* 2023: Naoya Inoue
* 2024: Oleksandr Usyk (2)

## Fighter of the Decade

* 1910s: Sam Langford
* 1920s: Benny Leonard
* 1930s: Henry Armstrong
* 1940s: Sugar Ray Robinson
* 1950s: Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
* 1960s: Muhammad Ali
* 1970s: Roberto Durán
* 1980s: Sugar Ray Leonard
* 1990s: Roy Jones Jr.
* 2000s: Manny Pacquiao
* 2010s: Floyd Mayweather Jr.