Terence Crawford could miss out on historic ‘Fighter of the 12 months’ award following one upcoming matchup

Terence Crawford undoubtedly earned the most important win of 2025 last month.

At Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez to turn out to be the undisputed super super middleweight champion.

Many even believed that the unanimous scorecards didn’t truly reflect just how dominant ‘Bud’ was on September 13.

While there have been some hot takes about what Crawford achieved, there’s no denying that the style of his performance after moving up two weight classes was incredibly impressive.

It might appear to be he has the ‘Fighter of the 12 months’ award already within the bag, but one upcoming fight could challenge that position.

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Naoya Inoue’s fourth fight of 2025 could provide competition for the ‘Fighter of the 12 months’ award

When it comes time for The Ring magazine to crown their ‘Fighter of the 12 months’ for 2025, Terence Crawford is probably going going to be the primary name that’s recommend.

His win was so impressive that some have even urged Crawford to retire while he’s on top of the game after every part that he has already achieved.

That being said, there are some that criticized Canelo Alvarez’s display on September 13, questioning whether the Mexican star ignored his opponent.

Crawford’s win was the most important moment in boxing this yr, but it surely’s also the one time that he has competed in 2025.

Naoya Inoue, alternatively, who’s ranked as The Ring’s #3 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, two spots behind ‘Bud’, has been far more energetic.

‘The Monster’ has already produced three wins this yr to defend his undisputed super bantamweight titles, including a bout with Ramon Cardenas where he recovered after being dropped within the second round.

Inoue is currently scheduled to return against Alan Picasso on December 27 in Riyadh, where a fourth consecutive win in a single calendar yr could provide some serious opposition to Crawford.

To make use of the UFC as a comparison, Ilia Topuria likely holds the only most impressive win of 2025.

Nonetheless, Merab Dvalishvili set to make UFC history by defending his bantamweight title 4 times in December, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t had the very best yr.

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Terence Crawford could be just the third American fighter to win the award in 15 years

Terence Crawford would join an exclusive list of American fighters who’ve been named The Ring’s ‘Fighter of the 12 months’ in recent times.

The magnitude of Crawford’s win in September still puts him in a robust position because the fighter that almost all people will consider to be the favourite for the award.

Nonetheless, if Naoya Inoue can end the yr with an enormous performance against Alan Picasso, there’s room for a debate.