There are ten fighters being considered for 2023 Fighter of the Year.
Starting with the heaviest to the lightest in weight, we start with IBF Cruiserweight champion southpaw Jai Opetaia, 24-0, from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He defeated IBF European champion Jordan “Troublesome” Thompson, 15-0, and WBO Euro Cruiser champion Ellis Zorro, 17-0 both by stoppage.
WBO World Cruiser champion Chris “The Gentleman’ Billand-Smith, 19-1, of Bournemouth, UK, defeated then champion Lawrence “The Sauce’ Okolie, 19-0, and “Master” Mateusz Masternak, 47-5, by stoppage.
WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF Super Middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 60-2-2, of Guadalajara, Mexico, defeated WBO Interim champion John “The Gorilla” Ryder, 32-5, and WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF Super Welterweight champion Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo, 35-1-1, both by decision.
WBO Welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, 40-0, of Omaha, Nebraska, added the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles, stopping champion Errol “The Truth” Spence, 28-0.
IBF Welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 31-0, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the Interim champion, defeating IBF Inter-Continental champion Karen Chukhadzhian, 23-1, and Roiman “Flaco de Oro” Villa, 26-1, by stoppage. He was awarded the IBF World title.
WBC World Super Lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney, 31-0, of Las Vegas, Nevada, who was the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF Lightweight champion won the WBC World Super Lightweight title from champion Regis “Rougarou” Prograis, 29-1, after defeating former WBC champion Vasyl “Loma” Lomachenko, 17-2, in a Lightweight defense.
WBO World Super Featherweight champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, 38-1-1, of San Juan Zitlaltepec, Mexico, stopped Liam Wilson, 11-1, defeated Oscar Valdez, 31-1, and drew with Robson Conceicao, 17-2.
WBC Super Featherweight champion O’Shaquie “Ice Water” Foster, 21-2, of Houston, Texas, won the vacant title by defeating Rey Vargas, 36-0, and stopped Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez, 34-1.
IBF World Featherweight champion Luis “El Venado” Alberto Lopez, 29-2, of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, stopped Michael “Mick” Conlan, 18-1, and defeated Joet Gonzalez, 26-3.
WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF Bantamweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue, 26-0, won the WBC and WBO Super Bantamweight titles, stopping Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton, 21-0, and adding the WBA and IBF titles, stopping Super Bantamweight champion Marlon “Nightmare” Tapales, 37-3.
IBF and WBO World Flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, 19-0, of San Antonio, Texas, defeated Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez, 15-1-1, and defeated IBF champion Sunny “Showtime” Edwards, 20-0.
There you have it: ten world champions being considered for the 2023 “Fighter of the Year.” Let’s hear your opinions.
