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Boxing

DAZN's 2024 boxing awards: Fighter of the year; biggest disappointments; best moments

Claudia Trejos, Ade Oladipo, Charlie Parsons, Sonny Madden.
DAZN's 2024 boxing awards: Fighter of the year; biggest disappointments; best momentsDAZN

As we say goodbye to 2024 and hello to 2025, the hope of all fight fans is that the New Year at least matches, but hopefully betters, 2024 - which is a tough act to follow.

Undisputed world title fights, rivalries settled or extended, and plenty of 'wow' moments. Boxing fans got to see it all on DAZN, and will have the same opportunities in 2025, with the best fights week-in-week-out, plus the biggest Pay-Per-View events broadcast on the home of boxing. 

As a stunning 2024 comes to an end, the DAZN team of presenters Claudia Trejos and Ade Oladipo, and Charlie Parsons from The Stomping Ground and Propa Boxing's Sonny Madden hand out their own boxing awards.

2024 Fighter of the Year - Oleksandr Usyk / Daniel Dubois

Madden

Daniel Dubois - What he has done, from where he has come from is nothing sort of incredible. We wrote him off after the Usyk loss, we wrote him off after the Joe Joyce loss. A lot of quitter vibes around him.

But for him to become the knockout artist he is, to be the force he is now in a ring, and he is certainly not a quitter. For him to be standing now as a world champion, after always being the underdog in every fight, he has to be the Fighter of the Year.

Trejos

For Usyk to do such a great job at cruiserweight, to manhandle everyone at that level. Then being such a small heavyweight and then to literally take everyone in that division to school is incredible.

His boxing skills are another level. Every time I think I've seen it all, he gives me a little bit more. He is giving us the best of the best in terms of boxing skills, personality, grit inside and outside of the ring.

He is always fighting on the road, never at home. Like Dubois, always being written off in the land of the giants. 

Home of boxing

2024 biggest disappointment - Anthony Yarde / Gervonta Davis / Ryan Garcia

Madden

I do love Anthony Yarde and I don't mean any disrespect to him. But I think he made a massive booboo leaving Frank Warren, for whatever the politics where. When Frank is at the pinnacle of what he is doing, with all the Saudi events going on, I couldn't understand that decision.

Then from there he had a very lacklustre performance against Ralfs Vilcans in October. Now he has lost the Joshua Buatsi fight, as he is now fighting Callum Smith in February. He looks to have lost Willy Hutchinson fight, as he is floating around the Saudi setup now. 

Oladipo

To clarify, when we say we are disappointed, it is because the hopes for his year were so high. We aren't disappointed in scrubs, we are disappointed with elite fighters and the expectations we had for them coming into the year.

Because mine is Gervonta [Davis]. That is because Gervonta has everything to be the face of the sport. He has all the power to pick who he wants to fight. If he isn't fighting someone of the quality of a Devin Haney then it is because of Gervonta.

So when I see him in the ring with someone like Frank Martin or others like that, I'm like 'come on, you are letting me down'.

Ryan Garcia_19042024Golden Boy Promotions / Cris Esqueda

Trejos

Ryan Garcia for me. I am so disappointed because he has the boxing skills and the ability to put butts on seats. It is such a sad state of affairs.

He is young, transcends boxing to people outside. He is bigger than just boxing and brings fans in from everywhere. When he beat Devin Haney we were like 'this it is, he is the star of boxing'. 

Then the coin just flipped. It is like Gervonta Davis. Davis is his own worst enemy. It isn't his boxing skills, it isn't his corner, it is him. We are waiting for him to take that extra step to go to the next level.

2024 best boxing moment - too many to list!

Oladipo

AJ/Dubois at Wembley in front of 96,000. I remember going to do a little wrap piece and looking around and just thinking 'oh my lord'. Then to witness what Dubois did to AJ as well. It was the whole thing. 

Parsons

A record attendance and the best atmosphere ever experienced. That is because British fans do it the best. Get the beer flowing, stick on some 'Sweet Caroline' on in the middle of it all, and that AJ walkout, and you have an incredible atmosphere.

But I'd actually have to go with Usyk vs Fury 1 because of seeing the amount of people that travel over for that fight. It was heavyweight undisputed, we cannot miss that fact.

The whole fight week was incredible. It was all over the news back home, on the front pages of the papers, it was every where.

Madden

It is Queensbury versus Matchroom 5v5. The moment Hamzah Sheeraz beat Austin Williams, which meant Eddie [Hearn] couldn't catch Frank [Warren].

Then for Dubois to do what he did against Filip Hrgovic and to see Eddie be absolutely whitewashed was a stunning moment.

That's because I didn't expect Eddie to lose the match, let alone be clean sweeped, I thought that was a big moment in the year.

Trejos

I have one that is very personal to me. Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez becoming a champion.

I've known him for many years and for him to be the first Mexican to become a world champion at 168 and doing it in a huge event like the Latino night in Riyadh gave it extra meaning.

It was hugely significant for Mexican boxing to have a champion at this level. 

It blew my mind to see how he performed at this level and the way he beat Chris Billam-Smith was so impressive. He is making himself a very good path to potential heavyweight.

Oladipo

We are missing a key one. Beterbiev versus Bivol, undisputed. We cannot forget this one. Two incredibly skilled fighters going fully at it. 

2024 pound-for-pound top three fighters

Naoya Inoue_16072024YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images

Trejos: 1. Oleksandr Usyk; 2. Naoya Inoue; 3. Terence Crawford

Madden: 1. Oleksandr Usyk; 2. Naoya Inoue; 3. Artur Beterbiev 

Oladipo: 1. Oleksandr Usyk; 2. Terence Crawford; 3.Naoya Inoue

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