2023 Boxing Awards
Fighter of the year Naoya Inoue Super Bantamweight went 2-0 (2) and jumped up to his fourth weight, not including the one he skipped (112) and beat two unified champions Stephen Fulton (KO8), Marlon Tapales (KO10) on his way to becoming undisputed in his second weight class joining only Terence Crawford to be the only undisputed champion in two weight classes in the four belt era.
Fight of the Year - O'shaquie Foster TKO 12 Eduardo Hernandez with six minutes away from being robbed blind. Foster put together an incredible 5:38-second rally that ended with him stopping Hernandez in front of his hometown fans to retain his WBC Super Featherweight title.
Prospect of the Year Abdullah Mason, 11-0 (9), had a remarkable 2023, going 5-0 (5) and ending the year with a sensational second-round KO of Jose Cardenas, who was coming off of a win against Hugo Castaneda. Still a teenager, Mason Hails from Cleveland, Ohio, and also had summer wins over Cesar Villarraga and Alex de Oliveira.
Round of the year Round 11 O'Shaquie Foster vs Eduardo Hernandez. In desperation mode, Foster came out to start the round in the southpaw stance. Given clear instructions from his trainer that he needed a stoppage. "Ice Water" went for it, and a short right hand 43 seconds in rocked the challenger. Hernandez, up on the cards, was not content on holding on as he continued to eat a barrage of power shots. Completely out on his feet and eating major shots, Hernedez scored one of his own with 1:17 left in the round that staggered the champion. For the next 20 seconds, the Mexican rallied while he had the Texan against the rope and in a defensive shell, eating shots. Foster stopped the rally with a massive right uppercut with 42 seconds left. The pair shot and traded massive power shots over the last 30 seconds and that would set up the dramatic 12th round.
KO of the Year- Ja'Rico O'Quinn seemed completely outclassed and out of his fight with undefeated prospect Peter McGrail. After losing every moment of every run through 4 and a half rounds, Ja'Rico O'Quinn landed the perfect shot. A terrorizing right hand while against the ropes, putting the undefeated McGrill down and out for several minutes.
Best Fighter you never heard of the Year- Armando Casamonica 12-0 (3),
the Italian 140-pounder went 3-0 (2) and finished off his year in October with a win over Patrizio Santini to capture the IBF-Youth world title.
Trainer of the Year- Shingo Inoue, the father of Takuma Inoue, and 2024 Fighter of the Year Naoya Inoue, compiled a record of 3-0 (2) and picked up five title belts. The father who often goes under the radar, has gotten the lesser Inoue to the mountain top and the more talented Inoue brother to GOAT level amongst little men.
Upset of the Year - This may be the second time that Cuban Gold Medalist Robeisy Ramirez is on the wrong side of this list. Rafael Espinoza was supposed to be light work and Ramirez was supposed to go on to bigger things. However, after a very quick start from Espinoza, Ramirez, behind on the cards, seemed to end the fight with one explosive knockdown. However, Espinoza beat the count and survived, fought back, and sealed the upset with a knockdown of his own in the 12th to secure the majority decision victory by scores of 115-111, 114-112, and 113-113.
Robbery of the Year- We usually look at this award and assume it comes from a horrible decision. This year that is not the case. Ismael Barroso was dominating and dropped Rolly Romero. Barroso looked to be on his way to possibly winning "Upset of the Year" when he ran into a bit of trouble and was dropped in the ninth but got to his feet and was fully recovered, and unphased and even landing some shots of his own when referee Tony Weeks inexplicably called a halt to the bout and waved it if for no reason in particular. Later Weeks said he stopped the fight because Barrosos, who is 40, is old.
Performance of the Year O'shanique Foster vs Rey Vargas. Foster's story read like a Hollywood movie before the Vargas fight. He got the chance to return home to Texas as a prohibitive underdog and against multi-divisional champ Rey Vargas at the Alamodome. Foster, who had gone through hell and back to get to this moment, was not about to let it slip as he dominated all 36 minutes, never looked back, and boxed perfectly in upsetting the hard-hitting Mexican by lopsided scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109.
