Terence Crawford edged out by fellow undisputed champion as the Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year

Terence Crawford may have had the single greatest performance in the boxing ring of 2023, but it was not enough for him to be crowned the Fighter of the Year, according to Ring Magazine.

Instead, the prestigious award went to fellow two-division undisputed champion, Naoya Inoue.

'The Monster' defeated Stephen Fulton earlier in 2023 to become the new WBC and WBO super-bantamweight champion, before he finished Marlon Tapales in December to became the undisputed king of the division.

Boxing editor for talkSport, Michael Benson, recently took to X to share the news of Inoue's award, and wrote this:

"Naoya Inoue has been announced as the winner of the 2023 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year award after beating Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales to become a two-weight four-belt undisputed world champion."

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Terence Crawford's sole fight this year came against Errol Spence Jr., with the pair facing off in July. Both men entered the ring undefeated and competed to decide the first undisputed welterweight champion in the 'four belt era' of boxing.

'Bud' put on one of the greatest performances in recent memory, and knocked Spence Jr. down three times en route to a ninth-round TKO victory.

He became the first male boxer to become an undisputed champion in two divisions, and was swiftly followed by Naoya Inoue, who replicated the feat against Tapales.

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Terence Crawford confirms his next bout will be a rematch with Errol Spence Jr.

In 2023, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. went head-to-head in one of the most anticipated boxing matches of the 21st century. The pair were vying to achieve welterweight history, as well as maintain their undefeated records, and the fight was predicted to be incredibly close.

But Crawford asserted himself as the king of the division with a career-defining performance against Spence Jr., dominating the exchanges from the outset as he stopped 'The Truth' in Round 9.

A month after the clash, Spence Jr. activated the rematch clause in their fight contract, leading to discussions about which weight the second bout could be scheduled at.

According to talkSport boxing editor, Michael Benson, Crawford has now confirmed that he will be facing 'The Truth' next.

Benson took to X and wrote this:

"Terence Crawford has reiterated that the Errol Spence rematch will be his next fight: 'We signed to do a rematch and that's what it is. I don't have a date, but I know that next… It shows the championship mentality that he has. '

"'He lost a gruelling fight and he feels it just wasn't his night and he wants to prove to the world that he can defeat me in a rematch. I take my hat off to him, it was always respect.'"

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