Joey’s Corner: The 2025 Year-End Awards including ‘Trojan’ Troy and more

The Christmas dinner has been siphoned into sandwiches. Jools Holland’s Hootenanny is almost upon us. The most annoying person on Instagram is about to post #NewYearNewMe content. Yes, we truly are on the verge of big 2026.

Therefore, before we all belt out Auld Lang Syne like the people of New York using it to kill Vigo The Carpathian in Ghostbusters II, Joey’s Corner is going to tie a bow on 2025. Read on for my year-end awards.

Fight of the Year: Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes

Hotly-contested as always, this year saw some belting brawls and technical chess matches worthy of remembrance. But this furious shootout for the vacant WBO lightweight crown had it all. A young, unbeaten American against a similarly undefeated Brit who epitomised grit.

The interesting dynamic in this Riyadh classic was the way in which each fighter actually showed some of the qualities their opponent brought to the bout. Mason proved he can marry his supernatural skills with a mean, war-like intensity like Noakes. Meanwhile, Sam proved he had silk to go with his steel, giving Mason plenty of technical questions to answer between the furious exchanges.

Ultimately, Mason passed his toughest test. A truly special performance from a 21-year-old who is destined to set up camp in the pound-for-pound list. But Noakes proved that he will be a major factor at 135lbs in the coming year.

Upset of the Year: Troy Williamson TKO10 Callum Simpson

A buzzer-beater of a pick, this incredible TKO had me considering ‘Trojan’ for Fighter of the Year. 

Williamson was on a run of four losses from his last five bouts when he shocked English super middleweight champion Mark Dickinson in September. Troy had climbed two divisions to resurrect his career and few picked him ahead of time. But the trigger-happy veteran stopped Dickinson in nine rounds to establish himself at 168lbs.

Even after that fine display, not many fancied Williamson to dethrone British, Commonwealth and European champion Simpson. The Barnsley man was four inches taller than his challenger and with the frame of a future light heavyweight. Unbeaten in 18 fights and highly-ranked by several sanctioning bodies; surely Simpson would be a step too far for Williamson?

The two men put on a rousing spectacle at the Leeds First Direct Arena. Simpson threw his usual punches in bunches and looked liked overwhelming Williamson at times. But ‘Trojan’ used all the tricks, mauling on the inside and frustrating Simpson. The champion had success with his long jab, but was too eager to engage Troy in the sort of war in which he thrives.

When the time was right, Williamson unloaded a volley of shots on Simpson’s chin. The champ never recovered, hitting the deck four times in total before the bout was waved off. Cue chaos in the stands and the press box, the latter being infiltrated by the celebrating Williamson clan.

It was a tremendous statement from a fighter who has given us so much to savour over the years. Williamson has been worth his weight in Fight of the Year awards. Now he has a trio of prestigious belts and a world ranking at the age of 34.

Prospect of the Year: Moses Itauma

Who else? The terrifying heavyweight has been tagged with the dreaded ‘next Mike Tyson’ label. Such a moniker can weigh heavily on a lesser fighter, but Itauma spent 2025 looking every inch the new ‘Kid Dynamite’.

Itauma’s first outing of 2025 came in May, as he looked to follow up a December 2024 crushing of fringe contender Demsey McKean that hinted at bigger things. 

The Slovakia-born starlet kept his run of early finishes going by dominating out-of-his-depth American Mike Balogun. The ex-NFL probably felt like running back to the gridiron as Itauma dealt with him in two rounds.

After winning 10 of his 12 fights in the first two rounds, matchmakers rightly thought it was time for a more robust test. In came former heavyweight title challenger Dillian Whyte, perhaps the best British heavyweight of this generation not to win a world title. 

Nobody told Itauma that ‘The Bodysnatcher’ was supposed to give him rounds. Whyte gave the prospect less than one. Itauma finished his man with the sort of ruthless efficiency that justifies those Tyson comparisons.

Itauma moves through the levels again in January, taking on Jermaine Franklin. ‘989 Assassin’ has gone the distance with Anthony Joshua and snapped the unbeaten record of Ivan Dychko last time out. Can he be the first fighter to really test the power-punching prodigy?

Most Improved Fighter of the Year: Jazza Dickens

This was a close-run thing, with new WBO heavyweight king Fabio Wardley running it close. But Wardley had never lost coming into 2025, we simply found out he has a far higher ceiling than anticipated. Instead I have gone for Dickens, a fighter written off more than a Top Gear track car. 

The hard-working super featherweight looked like his race was run a couple of years back. Knockout losses to Kid Galahad and Hector Andres Sosa opened old wounds. Those with longer memories will remember the iconic Guillermo Rigondeaux breaking Jazza’s jaw in two savage 2016 rounds.

Dickens had a fine career to look back on. Not every boxer gets two world title shots and wins a British belt. The perception was that Dickens would settle into the dreaded ‘opponent’ role, giving good work to more illustrious foes before retiring with dignity.

That certainly seemed to be the idea behind his February fight with Manchester’s Zelfa Barrett. Fighting a world-ranked contender in that fighter’s hometown is usually an indication you’re not supposed to win. But nobody thought to tell Dickens, who cleverly outpointed Barrett with a controlled display.

Career ignited, Dickens headed to Istanbul to face WBA interim super featherweight champion Albert Batyrgaziev. The Russian was unbeaten coming in and had won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. Once again, Dickens must have mislaid his copy of the script. A rousing display in Turkey saw the bald buzzsaw knock his decorated foe out in four rounds to capture the title.

That belt has now been upgraded to the full WBA world championship, after previous champion Lamont Roach moved up in weight. Once British boxing’s forgotten man, Dickens can finally call himself champion of the world.

Event of the Year: BOXXER at the Royal Albert Hall

Plenty of fine cards have taken place at home and abroad in 2025. 

Both Benn-Eubank extravaganzas were worthy of inclusion, with your scribe particularly enjoying the 50 Cent-bolstered sequel as a cultural event. 

Jake Paul took time out from getting his jaw smashed in to deliver a belter of a card for Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano III at Madison Square Garden. Riyadh Season/The Ring continued to match the world’s best on bumper pay-per-view events. Frank Warren’s ‘Magnificent 7’ brand brought stacked events to British rings.

But my choice is an event that felt truly special. More than just fights, the BOXXER event at the Royal Albert Hall in association with International Women’s Day was a worthy tribute to the way female boxing has dominated the conversation in recent years.

The show was topped by Lauren Price’s ascension, as she took the torch from the legendary Natasha Jonas to unify three of the four welterweight straps. A defining night for one of Britain’s very best.

The show also saw Caroline Dubois taken to the limit in a thrilling defence of her WBC lightweight belt against Bo Mi Re Shin. Olympic bronze medalist Kariss Artingstall became the inaugural British featherweight champion with a superb win over Raven Chapman. 

We got a glimpse of boxing’s future as Francesca Hennessy dominated Gemma Ruegg. There was also an incredible upset as Jasmina Zapotoczna dethroned unbeaten European flyweight champion Chloe Watson.

The setting was magnificent, with the great Hall providing a cauldron of noise. The fights were engaging, with everything from world title coronations and wars to upsets and Olympic heroes. The cause was worthy, as IWD and BOXXER united to highlight the incredible rise of the women’s sport. Not just a boxing show, this was an occasion of real magnitude.

Fighter of the Year: Terence Crawford

Usually I like to see more than one bout out of a FOTY candidate. But when their sole fight of the annum sees a boxer climb two weight divisions to bully one of the greatest fighters of all time, there is really no other destination for this award.

‘Bud’ Crawford looked to be slowing down. After clinching the undisputed welterweight crown by destroying Errol Spence in 2023, the Nebraska stylist had fought just once. A 2024 struggle to wrest the WBA super welterweight gong from Israil Madrimov had some questioning whether the pound-for-pounder had much left. Crawford won the belt, in his fourth weight class, but the performance was not his best.

So naturally, Terence gained 14lbs and fought undisputed super middleweight kingpin Saul Canelo Alvarez. Such a thing had been attempted before, when then-154bs champ Jermell Charlo found himself out-sized and out-smarted against the Mexican. The adage that ‘a good big man always beats a good little man’ was trotted out. 

After all, Canelo had never lost at super middleweight. What chance did a man who started his career at lightweight have against him? Well…

Crawford boxed the perfect fight. The Omaha native used switch-hitting, a potent body jab and a surprising amount of inside-strength to take the play away from the favourite. Canelo did not box badly at all, which only made Crawford’s conquest more impressive. An era-defining performance from the greatest fighter since Floyd Mayweather retired.

If Crawford sticks to his retirement, announced earlier this month, then the 38-year-old leaves an indelible legacy. 

The first four-belt undisputed champion at three different weights. The only four-weight The Ring champion. Never knocked down. Not a single judge has ever scored a fight for his opponent. ‘Bud’ has beaten Canelo, Madrimov, Spence, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Ricky Burns among his 20 consecutive victories in world title fights. 

First ballot Hall of Famer? They might need to build Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford his own wing in Canastota.

Image: Chris Dean for BOXXER

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