Terence Crawford Named 2024 ESPY Boxer Of The Year – But Does He Deserve The Award?

Terence Crawford has been named the 2024 ESPY Boxer of the Year, and while no one can doubt his standing at the top of the sport, it could be argued that there were more worthy recipients.

Crawford (40-0-0 31 KO) positioned himself at the top of the unofficial pound-for-pound rankings last July with a masterclass performance against welterweight rival Errol Spence Jr. That victory, via a ninth-round stoppage, saw ‘Bud’ become an undisputed world champion in two weight divisions – the first male fighter ever to achieve the feat in the four-belt era.

However, since then, Crawford has been inactive. Attempts to secure a rematch with Spence fell through several times, while talk of a catchweight bout against Canelo Alvarez never materialized beyond the speculation.

It was not until Saudi Arabian boxing boss Turki Alalshikh took an interest in Crawford’s career that his return to the ring was finally confirmed; Bud will aim to become a three-weight world champion on August 3 when he faces WBA super-welterweight title holder Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles in what will be the first international Riyadh Season show.

But is one fight in the past 12 months enough to justify Crawford being named ESPY Boxer of the Year, no matter how impressive that one fight was?

Was Usyk More Deserving Than Crawford?

Considering what other boxers have achieved over the past 12 months, there are several champions who would feel they are more deserving of the recognition.

Oleksandr Usyk, for instance, has fought twice over the last year, first retaining his WBO, WBA, and IBF world titles in a ninth-round stoppage win over Daniel Dubois in Poland last August, before creating history in May.

On that night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Ukrainian defeated WBC title holder Tyson Fury by split decision in an all-time classic to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion of the four-belt era. He is also the first fighter to simultaneously hold all four world titles in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.

Should Usyk defeat Fury – the ESPY winner in 2021 and 2022 – in December’s rematch, then he will surely be in the running for every available individual award.

It’s worth noting that ESPN, who produces the ESPY awards, named Usyk as its fighter of the year for 2024 in its midyear boxing awards. While that only encompasses the last six months, during which Crawford did not fight, it alludes to who ESPN believes is the top boxer on the planet.

The ESPYs, however, are voted for using a combination of fan votes, sports journalists, broadcasters, sports executives, athletes, and ESPN personalities.

Inoue’s History-Making Year

Elsewhere, Naoya Inoue could also lay claim to being the boxer of the year. The Japanese star has fought three times over the past 12 months and made history of his own.

After conquering the bantamweight division, Inoue stepped up to super-bantamweight in July last year and won the WBC and WBO world titles in his first bout, dominating Stephen Fulton on his way to an eighth-round knockout.

Inoue then ended 2023 by becoming the undisputed champion at 122lbs by taking the IBF and WBC titles from Marlon Tapales following a 10th-round stoppage win. With that victory, ‘The Monster’ joined Crawford as the only other male fighter to become a two-weight undisputed champion during the four-belt era – a feat later also achieved by Usyk.

Inoue then rounded off a stunning 12 months by beating Luis Nery in his first undisputed title defense in May, even climbing off the canvas for the first time in his career to eventually crush the Mexican in the sixth round.

Another fighter who has achieved more than Crawford over the last year is Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, who became the unified flyweight world champion by stopping the previously unbeaten Sunny Edwards in December, before becoming the WBC super-flyweight world champion with a stunning KO victory over the great Juan Francisco Estrada in June.

Considering what other great champions have achieved in the ring over the past year, it makes the selection of Crawford even more baffling. Bud, who won the last edition of ESPY’s Fighter of the Year award in 2018 before it was splintered into two separate awards for boxers and MMA fighters, will hope to be more active over the coming year to ensure such awards are fully merited next time.