The Ring magazine Fight of the Year

Fights of the Year by decade

1920s

• 1922 Harry Greb W 15 Gene Tunney
• 1923 Jack Dempsey KO 2 Luis Ángel Firpo
• 1924 Gene Tunney KO 15 Georges Carpentier
• 1925 Harry Greb W 15 Mickey Walker
• 1926 Gene Tunney W 10 Jack Dempsey I
• 1927 Gene Tunney W 10 Jack Dempsey II
• 1928 Tommy Loughran W 15 Leo Lomski
• 1929 Max Schmeling KO 9 Johnny Risko

1930s

• 1930 Jack Kid Berg W 10 Kid Chocolate I
• 1931 Max Schmeling KO 15 Young Stribling
• 1932 Tony Canzoneri W 15 Billy Petrolle II
• 1933 Max Baer TKO 10 Max Schmeling
• 1934 Barney Ross W 15 Jimmy McLarnin I
• 1935 Joe Louis KO 4 Max Baer
• 1936 Max Schmeling KO 12 Joe Louis I
• 1937 Joe Louis W 15 Tommy Farr
• 1938 Henry Armstrong W 15 Lou Ambers I
• 1939 Joe Louis KO 11 Bob Pastor II

1940s

• 1940 Ceferino Garcia D 10 Henry Armstrong
• 1941 Joe Louis KO 13 Billy Conn I
• 1942 Willie Pep W 15 Chalky Wright I
• 1943 Beau Jack W 15 Bob Montgomery II
• 1944 Bob Montgomery W 15 Beau Jack III
• 1945 Rocky Graziano KO 10 Red Cochrane I
• 1946 Tony Zale KO 6 Rocky Graziano I
• 1947 Rocky Graziano KO 6 Tony Zale II
• 1948 Marcel Cerdan KO 12 Tony Zale
• 1949 Willie Pep W 15 Sandy Saddler II

1950s

• 1950 Jake LaMotta KO 15 Laurent Dauthuille II
• 1951 Jersey Joe Walcott KO 7 Ezzard Charles III
• 1952 Rocky Marciano KO 13 Jersey Joe Walcott I
• 1953 Rocky Marciano KO 11 Roland La Starza II
• 1954 Rocky Marciano KO 8 Ezzard Charles II
• 1955 Carmen Basilio TKO 12 Tony DeMarco II
• 1956 Carmen Basilio TKO 9 Johnny Saxton II
• 1957 Carmen Basilio W 15 Sugar Ray Robinson I
• 1958 Sugar Ray Robinson W 15 Carmen Basilio II
• 1959 Gene Fullmer KO 14 Carmen Basilio I

1960s

• 1960 Floyd Patterson KO 5 Ingemar Johansson II
• 1961 Joe Brown W 15 Dave Charnley II
• 1962 Joey Giardello W 10 Henry Hank II
• 1963 Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) W 10 Doug Jones
• 1964 Muhammad Ali KO 7 Sonny Liston I
• 1965 Floyd Patterson W 12 George Chuvalo
• 1966 José Torres W 15 Eddie Cotton
• 1967 Nino Benvenuti W 15 Emile Griffith I
• 1968 Dick Tiger W 10 Frank DePaula
• 1969 Joe Frazier KO 7 Jerry Quarry I

1970s

• 1970 Carlos Monzón KO 12 Nino Benvenuti I
• 1971 Joe Frazier W 15 Muhammad Ali I
• 1972 Bob Foster KO 14 Chris Finnegan
• 1973 George Foreman TKO 2 Joe Frazier I
• 1974 Muhammad Ali KO 8 George Foreman
• 1975 Muhammad Ali TKO 14 Joe Frazier III
• 1976 George Foreman KO 5 Ron Lyle
• 1977 Jimmy Young W 12 George Foreman
• 1978 Leon Spinks W 15 Muhammad Ali I
• 1979 Danny Lopez KO 15 Mike Ayala

1980s

• 1980 Matthew Saad Muhammad KO 14 Yaqui Lopez II
• 1981 Sugar Ray Leonard TKO 14 Thomas Hearns I
• 1982 Bobby Chacon UD 15 Rafael Limon IV
• 1983 Bobby Chacon W 12 Cornelius Boza-Edwards II
• 1984 José Luis Ramírez KO 4 Edwin Rosario II
• 1985 Marvelous Marvin Hagler TKO 3 Thomas Hearns
• 1986 Stevie Cruz W 15 Barry McGuigan
• 1987 Sugar Ray Leonard W 12 Marvelous Marvin Hagler
• 1988 Tony Lopez W 12 Rocky Lockridge I
• 1989 Roberto Durán W 12 Iran Barkley

1990s

• 1990 Julio César Chávez TKO 12 Meldrick Taylor I
• 1991 Robert Quiroga W 12 Akeem Anifowoshe
• 1992 Riddick Bowe W 12 Evander Holyfield I
• 1993 Michael Carbajal KO 7 Humberto González I
• 1994 Jorge Castro KO 9 John David Jackson I
• 1995 Saman Sorjaturong TKO 7 Humberto González
• 1996 Evander Holyfield TKO 11 Mike Tyson I
• 1997 Arturo Gatti KO 5 Gabriel Ruelas
• 1998 Ivan Robinson W 10 Arturo Gatti I
• 1999 Paulie Ayala W 12 Johnny Tapia I

2000s

• 2000 Erik Morales W 12 Marco Antonio Barrera I
• 2001 Micky Ward W 10 Emanuel Augustus
• 2002 Micky Ward W 10 Arturo Gatti I
• 2003 Arturo Gatti W 10 Micky Ward III
• 2004 Marco Antonio Barrera W 12 Erik Morales III
• 2005 Diego Corrales TKO 10 José Luis Castillo
• 2006 Somsak Sithchatchawal TKO 10 Mahyar Monshipour
• 2007 Israel Vázquez TKO 6 Rafael Márquez II
• 2008 Israel Vázquez W 12 Rafael Márquez III
• 2009 Juan Manuel Márquez TKO 9 Juan Diaz I

2010s

• 2010 Giovani Segura KO 8 Ivan Calderon I
• 2011 Victor Ortiz W 12 Andre Berto I
• 2012 Juan Manuel Márquez KO 6 Manny Pacquiao IV
• 2013 Timothy Bradley W 12 Ruslan Provodnikov
• 2014 Lucas Matthysse KO 11 John Molina, Jr.
• 2015 Francisco Vargas TKO 9 Takashi Miura
• 2016 Francisco Vargas D 12 Orlando Salido
• 2017 Anthony Joshua TKO 11 Wladimir Klitschko
• 2018 Canelo Álvarez W 12 Gennady Golovkin II
• 2019 Naoya Inoue W 12 Nonito Donaire

2020s

• 2020 Jose Zepeda KO 5 Ivan Baranchyk
• 2021 Tyson Fury KO 11 Deontay Wilder III
• 2022 Leigh Wood TKO 12 Michael Conlan
• 2023 Luis Nery KO 11 Azat Hovhannisyan
• 2024 Raymond Ford TKO 12 Otabek Kholmatov
• 2025 Chris Eubank Jr W 12 Conor Benn

References