ESPN: Vasyl Lomachenko chosen as BWAA Fighter of the Year

[Freedom2013]

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Junior lightweight world titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko, who gained recognition from many in boxing as the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world last year, was named as the winner of the 2017 Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year award by the Boxing Writers Association of America on Friday.

Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs), the first winner of the award from Ukraine in the 80 years that the organization has given it out, won in a vote of the membership over then-undisputed junior welterweight world champion Terence Crawford, unified heavyweight world titleholder Anthony Joshua, lightweight world titlist Mikey Garcia and junior bantamweight world titleholder Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

In 2017, Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-division world titleholder, ascended to No. 1 on some pound-for-pound lists, including ESPN's poll, by retaining his junior lightweight world title three times. He made all three opponents quit in one-sided fights: Jason Sosa, Miguel Marriaga and fellow pound-for-pound-ranked Guillermo Rigondeaux, a junior featherweight world titleholder who moved up in weight for the first-ever professional fight between two-time Olympic gold-medal winners.

The BWAA awards were owned by Team Lomachenko, which won the organization's triple crown.

Lomachenko's father and trainer, Anatoly Lomachenko, won the Eddie Futch Trainer of the Year award over Derrick James, Brian McIntyre, Andre Rozier and Abel Sanchez.

Egis Klimas, who manages Lomachenko, as well as light heavyweight world titleholder Sergey Kovalev, won the Cus D'Amato Manager of the Year award for the second year in a row. Klimas beat out nominees Keith Connolly and Frank Espinoza.