The Sugar Ray Robinson Award (previously known as the Edward J. Neil Trophy) is given to the Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Year.

History

The BWAA first presented the trophy in 1938. The original purpose of the trophy was to recognize "an individual who did the most for boxing in the previous year."

The ** mark indicates the boxer was not active in the year he actually won the award. Over time, the award went strictly to the best fighter of each year as decided by the BWAA. The members of the BWAA vote to decide the best boxer each year regardless of weight class or nationality.

The award was previously named for Edward J. Neil, an Associated Press sportswriter and war correspondent who was killed in 1938 while reporting on the Spanish Civil War.^[1] The 2009 award was renamed after boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson. The "Fighter of the Year" award is presented with other honors given by the BWAA at an annual awards dinner.

Starting with the 1990s, the BWAA also began to give an award for "Joe Louis Fighter of the Decade." The winners of this award are listed in a separate section.

Award winners

1930s

• 1938 – Jack Dempsey**
• 1939 – Billy Conn

1940s

• 1940 – Henry Armstrong
• 1941 – Joe Louis
• 1942 – Barney Ross**
• 1943 – Boxers of the Armed Forces
• 1944 – Benny Leonard**
• 1945 – James J. Walker**
• 1946 – Tony Zale
• 1947 – Gus Lesnevich
• 1948 – Ike Williams
• 1949 – Ezzard Charles

1950s

• 1950 – Sugar Ray Robinson
• 1951 – Jersey Joe Walcott
• 1952 – Rocky Marciano
• 1953 – Kid Gavilán
• 1954 – Bobo Olson
• 1955 – Carmen Basilio
• 1956 – Floyd Patterson
• 1957 – Carmen Basilio (2)
• 1958 – Archie Moore
• 1959 – Ingemar Johansson

1960s

• 1960 – Floyd Patterson (2)
• 1961 – Gene Fullmer
• 1962 – Dick Tiger
• 1963 – Emile Griffith
• 1964 – Willie Pastrano
• 1965 – Muhammad Ali
• 1966 – Dick Tiger (2)
• 1967 – Carlos Ortiz
• 1968 – Bob Foster
• 1969 – Joe Frazier

1970s

• 1970 – Ken Buchanan
• 1971 – Joe Frazier (2)
• 1972 – Carlos Monzón
• 1973 – George Foreman
• 1974 – Muhammad Ali (2)
• 1975 – Muhammad Ali (3), Joe Frazier (3)
• 1976 – Howard Davis Jr., Leo Randolph, Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks
• 1977 – Ken Norton
• 1978 – Larry Holmes
• 1979 – Sugar Ray Leonard (2)

1980s

• 1980 – Thomas Hearns
• 1981 – Sugar Ray Leonard (3)
• 1982 – Aaron Pryor
• 1983 – Marvin Hagler
• 1984 – Thomas Hearns (2)
• 1985 – Marvin Hagler (2)
• 1986 – Mike Tyson
• 1987 – Julio César Chávez
• 1988 – Mike Tyson (2)
• 1989 – Pernell Whitaker

1990s

• 1990 – Evander Holyfield
• 1991 – James Toney
• 1992 – Riddick Bowe
• 1993 – Pernell Whitaker (2)
• 1994 – George Foreman (2)
• 1995 – Oscar De La Hoya
• 1996 – Evander Holyfield (2)
• 1997 – Evander Holyfield (3)
• 1998 – Shane Mosley
• 1999 – Lennox Lewis

2000s

• 2000 – Félix Trinidad
• 2001 – Bernard Hopkins
• 2002 – Vernon Forrest
• 2003 – James Toney (2)
• 2004 – Glen Johnson
• 2005 – Ricky Hatton
• 2006 – Manny Pacquiao
• 2007 – Floyd Mayweather Jr.
• 2008 – Manny Pacquiao (2)
• 2009 – Manny Pacquiao (3)

2010s

• 2010 – Sergio Martínez
• 2011 – Andre Ward
• 2012 – Nonito Donaire
• 2013 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2)
• 2014 – Terence Crawford
• 2015 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. (3)
• 2016 – Carl Frampton
• 2017 – Vasyl Lomachenko
• 2018 – Oleksandr Usyk
• 2019 – Canelo Alvarez

2020s

• 2020 – Teófimo López
• 2021 – Canelo Alvarez (2)
• 2022 – Dmitry Bivol
• 2023 – Naoya Inoue

Joe Louis Fighter of the Decade

• 1990s: Roy Jones Jr.
• 2000s: Manny Pacquiao
• 2010s: Floyd Mayweather Jr.