Awards for Heavyweights by Decade

[Ambling Alp II]

Thought this would be interesting.
Ring Magazine started giving out awards for the Fight of the Year in 1922 and the Fighter of the Year in 1928. Fighters from every weight class are eligible ie. some years a middleweight won Fighter of the Year, sometimes a lightweight, sometimes a heavyweight etc.
Below is a list of how the heavyweight division has done by Decade:

Ring Fight of the Year Ring Fighter of the Year
1920s 4 times Fight of the Year, 1 time Fighter of the Year

1930s 5 times Fight of the Year, 5 times Fighter of the Year

1940s 1 time Fight of the Year , 2 times Fighter of the Year

1950s 4 times Fight of the Year, 7 times Fighter of the Year

1960s 5 times Fight of the Year, 5 times Fighter of the Year

1970s 7 times Fight of the Year, 8 times Fighter of the Year

1980s 0 Fight of the Year, 3 times Fighter of the Year

1990s 2 times Fight of the Year, 3 times Fighter of the Year

2000s 0 Fight of the Year, 0 Fighter of the Year

2010s 1 time Fight of the Year, 1 time Fighter of the Year

In the the 1970s, the heavyweights did quite well. A heavyweight fight won Fight of the Year 7 times and a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year 8 times.
It is interesting is looking which decades the heavyweights did well and which ones they did not.

[DrDuke]

The 90s definitely aren't reflected in a proper way with this statistics .

[Kalan]

How many times in 90 years was a Heavyweight who WASN'T AN AMERICAN voted Fighter of the Year? ... I don't want to hear about other weight classes because we're talking Heavyweights... 4% of the world's population are Americans.

Ring Magazine is the most biased publication in the history of print... America hasn't had a dominant Heavyweight in a long time so the people at Ring Magazine are really not going to be hyping foreign Heavyweights...

What I also find interesting is that of only 2 foreign Heavyweights who won the award only Ingemar Johansson was awarded this title TWICE... Johansson has a very thin record in Heavyweight Championship Fights... He got knocked out in 2 out of the 3 he fought... NOBODY would rate him over Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, or Anthony Joshua.

That tells me that image, hype, and the racist notions of the 50's and 60's had more to do with it than Ingo's ability... BTW, Nat Fleischer hated Sonny Liston... Floyd Patterson won "Fighter of the Year" TWICE... Do you think Ring was going to give Sonny Liston the award for his 2 smashing 1st round KO's of Floyd Patterson??? .... NEVER.

[keithmoonhangover]

Very interesting thread. When Joshua beat Klitschko, he beat an old man, years past his prime, who had lost his previous fight by barely throwing a punch and this is a guy that Joshua had life and death with.

Klitschko was 41 years old. Older than Joe Louis for the Marciano fight. Older than Holmes for the Tyson fight. Older than Tyson for the McBride fight.

[Kalan]

Don't be hung up on age.... With fabulous genetics a man under 45 can drive his body into excellent physical condition ... and he has one HELL of a lot more know-how than any young fighter.... He knows the game is 90% mental.

A 45-year old Ali was drooling... 45-year-old Foreman (NOT in good condition) was celebrating an unreal victory.

A 42-year-old Larry Holmes was sharper than a rusted out 38-year-old Holmes... He gave Ray Mercer a boxing lesson.

A 41-year-old Wladimir Klitschko probably fought the best fight of his life.

Archie Moore went 26-2-2 after 40 -- more fights than Ingemar Johansson fought in his entire career.

Eder Jofre fought several fight after the age of 40, winning his last 25 fights in a row.

And old fighter is a smart fighter... He has more experience and wisdom to drawn on than a young whippersnapper... He has more patience and focus... He has a deeper bag of tricks and more guile in using them... He knows the odds may be against him, but he knows you can’t win if you don’t play... He rolls the dice because his number has just as good a chance of coming up as any other.

[Ambling Alp II]

Very interesting thread. When Joshua beat Klitschko, he beat an old man, years past his prime, who had lost his previous fight by barely throwing a punch and this is a guy that Joshua had life and death with.

Klitschko was 41 years old. Older than Joe Louis for the Marciano fight. Older than Holmes for the Tyson fight. Older than Tyson for the McBride fight.

Yeah I thought it was interesting. Obviously there are certain times where you can legitimately disagree with who won the awards.
Like in 1962, Sonny Liston could have won the award. But Nat Fleischer and Ring Magazine gave it to middleweight Dick Tiger, from Nigeria. So the 1960s could have had another one.
Still the 1960s did pretty well.

Or the Bowe-Holyfield fight in 1993 could have got the award, which would have given the 1990s another one for the heavyweights. Ring gave it to the Carbajal-Gonzalez fight. (Carbajal was from the United States and Gonzalez from Mexico.)

But overall, it gives you a decent idea how good a decade was. A good decade should have some heavyweights winning the award for best fighter and if the division is good there should be some great fights winning Fight of the Year.
A bad decade in the division is not going to win many awards.

[Kalan]

How many times in 90 years was a Heavyweight who WASN'T AN AMERICAN voted Fighter of the Year? ... I don't want to hear about other weight classes because we're talking Heavyweights... 4% of the world's population are Americans.

Ring Magazine is the most biased publication in the history of print... America hasn't had a dominant Heavyweight in a long time so the people at Ring Magazine are really not going to be hyping foreign Heavyweights...

Only 2 foreign Heavyweights won the award in 90 years.... With the rise in global competition -- with The Ring being so biased against foreign Heavyweights you're not going to see Heavyweights named to the top spot.

[MrGuy]

How many times in 90 years was a Heavyweight who WASN'T AN AMERICAN voted Fighter of the Year? ... I don't want to hear about other weight classes because we're talking Heavyweights... 4% of the world's population are Americans.

Ring Magazine is the most biased publication in the history of print... America hasn't had a dominant Heavyweight in a long time so the people at Ring Magazine are really not going to be hyping foreign Heavyweights...

Only 2 foreign Heavyweights won the award in 90 years.... With the rise in global competition -- with The Ring being so biased against foreign Heavyweights you're not going to see Heavyweights named to the top spot.

Because with Mayweather, Pacquio, and company around, Wlad should've been given the award.

[Kalan]

Particularly over Adonis Stevenson and Sergio Martinez... Joshua should have won for last year.

[Ambling Alp II]

How many times in 90 years was a Heavyweight who WASN'T AN AMERICAN voted Fighter of the Year? ... I don't want to hear about other weight classes because we're talking Heavyweights... 4% of the world's population are Americans.

Ring Magazine is the most biased publication in the history of print... America hasn't had a dominant Heavyweight in a long time so the people at Ring Magazine are really not going to be hyping foreign Heavyweights...

Only 2 foreign Heavyweights won the award in 90 years.... With the rise in global competition -- with The Ring being so biased against foreign Heavyweights you're not going to see Heavyweights named to the top spot.

Because with Mayweather, Pacquio, and company around, Wlad should've been given the award.

Yes maybe Klitschko would have won it if Mayweather, Pacquio and company were not around.
But guess what? That has always been the case.
The heavyweights in the 1990s were competing with Chavez, Toney, Jones, De La Hoya and company for the award.
Larry Holmes probably would have won it more than once if there was Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Sanchez and company.
The heavyweights of the 1970s had to compete with Monzon, Duran, Napoles, Foster and company for the award.

As for Ring Magazine being biased towards, foreigners, well there have been a grand total of 6 foreign lineal heavyweight champions since the Fighter of the Year Award was established. Three won the award.
There have been 23 lineal American heavyweight champions since the Award was established. 13 times (slightly over half) that Fighter won the Fighter of the Year Award. That is not much of an argument for bias.

Take a look at the BWAA of America (Award started in late 1930s):
1940s 1 time a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1950s 4 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1960s 3 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1970s 6 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1980s 2 times a heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1990s 6 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
2000s Zero times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
2010s So far, zero times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year

The BWAA has only had theFight of the Year since 2002. Only once has a heavyweight fight won the award.

If the heavyweight division had been historically average since 2000, there would be great fights that people talk about a lot. Pick almost any other decade, and you can come up with several great fights that people like to watch and discuss. Since 2000, that almost never happens anymore. How often does someone talk about a heavyweight fight since 2000 and say what a great fight that was? We just hear about weights, WBS title defenses, blah, blah. almost never, do you remember that fight between so and so in 2006? Or the one between so and so in 2012? There should be at least a dozen by now that we could rattle off the top of our heads.

Obviously, You Know Who is going to come along with his crybaby excuses.
We can either keep making excuses for the heavyweights in the last 15 years or so or we can face reality. The reality is that the heavyweight division has been really bad for a long time.

[Kalan]

If the heavyweight division had been historically average since 2000, there would be great fights that people talk about a lot. Pick almost any other decade, and you can come up with several great fights that people like to watch and discuss. Since 2000, that almost never happens anymore. How often does someone talk about a heavyweight fight since 2000 and say what a great fight that was?

The division wasn't "Historically Average" since 2000... With any objectivity it's been the greatest 18 year period YET!!!! There’s been MORE great Heavyweight Fights since the dawn of 2000 than any comparable time frame... Here’s 15 of them.. Just the tip of the iceberg, but I haven't got all day... We've had dramatically UNREAL Heavyweight Fights lately.

Joshua-Klitschko LEADS this parade with their terrific 11-round struggle with savage punches absorbed by both...

Klitschko-Lewis would have been an even greater fight had Lewis not committed 5 consecutive fouls to tarnish the fight... You can see the graphic fouls on this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdOteT5G0Q

Wilder-Ortiz was edge-of-your-seat for back-n-forth drama...

Haye-Chisora was a Devastating Destruction in a Brutal Grudge Match...

Alexander Povetkin vs Carlos Takam was a close and thrilling fight...

Joshua vs Whyte was a Brutal Grudge Match with a Cataleptic Finish...

Wilder-Duhaupas was an unexpectedly great fight...

Ortiz-Jennings was a Savage Annihilation...

Stiverne-Arreola featured 2 savage beat downs of a granite chinned Mexican...

Klitschko-Pulev was a Detonation of Savage Left Hooks on an iron-chinned belligerent...

Vitali Klitschko vs Sam Peter was a Battering Beat Down...

Brewster-Liakhovich was Brutal Warfare for 12...

Brewster-Krasniqi was a crushing comeback KO...

Toney-Jirov would have been a Brutal Heavyweight Slugfest in any other era but we created Crusierweights...

For number 16... Just pick your favorite 21st Century Heavyweight PUNCHOUT that I haven’t mentioned yet.

[MrGuy]

How many times in 90 years was a Heavyweight who WASN'T AN AMERICAN voted Fighter of the Year? ... I don't want to hear about other weight classes because we're talking Heavyweights... 4% of the world's population are Americans.

Ring Magazine is the most biased publication in the history of print... America hasn't had a dominant Heavyweight in a long time so the people at Ring Magazine are really not going to be hyping foreign Heavyweights...

Only 2 foreign Heavyweights won the award in 90 years.... With the rise in global competition -- with The Ring being so biased against foreign Heavyweights you're not going to see Heavyweights named to the top spot.

Because with Mayweather, Pacquio, and company around, Wlad should've been given the award.

Yes maybe Klitschko would have won it if Mayweather, Pacquio and company were not around.
But guess what? That has always been the case.
The heavyweights in the 1990s were competing with Chavez, Toney, Jones, De La Hoya and company for the award.
Larry Holmes probably would have won it more than once if there was Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Sanchez and company.
The heavyweights of the 1970s had to compete with Monzon, Duran, Napoles, Foster and company for the award.

As for Ring Magazine being biased towards, foreigners, well there have been a grand total of 6 foreign lineal heavyweight champions since the Fighter of the Year Award was established. Three won the award.
There have been 23 lineal American heavyweight champions since the Award was established. 13 times (slightly over half) that Fighter won the Fighter of the Year Award. That is not much of an argument for bias.

Take a look at the BWAA of America (Award started in late 1930s):
1940s 1 time a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1950s 4 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1960s 3 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1970s 6 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1980s 2 times a heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
1990s 6 times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
2000s Zero times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year
2010s So far, zero times a Heavyweight was Fighter of the Year

The BWAA has only had theFight of the Year since 2002. Only once has a heavyweight fight won the award.

If the heavyweight division had been historically average since 2000, there would be great fights that people talk about a lot. Pick almost any other decade, and you can come up with several great fights that people like to watch and discuss. Since 2000, that almost never happens anymore. How often does someone talk about a heavyweight fight since 2000 and say what a great fight that was? We just hear about weights, WBS title defenses, blah, blah. almost never, do you remember that fight between so and so in 2006? Or the one between so and so in 2012? There should be at least a dozen by now that we could rattle off the top of our heads.

Obviously, You Know Who is going to come along with his crybaby excuses.
We can either keep making excuses for the heavyweights in the last 15 years or so or we can face reality. The reality is that the heavyweight division has been really bad for a long time.

[MrGuy]

If the heavyweight division had been historically average since 2000, there would be great fights that people talk about a lot. Pick almost any other decade, and you can come up with several great fights that people like to watch and discuss. Since 2000, that almost never happens anymore. How often does someone talk about a heavyweight fight since 2000 and say what a great fight that was?

The division wasn't "Historically Average" since 2000... With any objectivity it's been the greatest 18 year period YET!!!! There’s been MORE great Heavyweight Fights since the dawn of 2000 than any comparable time frame... Here’s 15 of them.. Just the tip of the iceberg, but I haven't got all day... We've had dramatically UNREAL Heavyweight Fights lately.

Joshua-Klitschko LEADS this parade with their terrific 11-round struggle with savage punches absorbed by both...

Klitschko-Lewis would have been an even greater fight had Lewis not committed 5 consecutive fouls to tarnish the fight... You can see the graphic fouls on this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtdOteT5G0Q

Wilder-Ortiz was edge-of-your-seat for back-n-forth drama...

Haye-Chisora was a Devastating Destruction in a Brutal Grudge Match...

Alexander Povetkin vs Carlos Takam was a close and thrilling fight...

Joshua vs Whyte was a Brutal Grudge Match with a Cataleptic Finish...

Wilder-Duhaupas was an unexpectedly great fight...

Ortiz-Jennings was a Savage Annihilation...

Stiverne-Arreola featured 2 savage beat downs of a granite chinned Mexican...

Klitschko-Pulev was a Detonation of Savage Left Hooks on an iron-chinned belligerent...

Vitali Klitschko vs Sam Peter was a Battering Beat Down...

Brewster-Liakhovich was Brutal Warfare for 12...

Brewster-Krasniqi was a crushing comeback KO...

Toney-Jirov would have been a Brutal Heavyweight Slugfest in any other era but we created Crusierweights...

For number 16... Just pick your favorite 21st Century Heavyweight PUNCHOUT that I haven’t mentioned yet.

Congrats you found a little over a dozen fights you call great in an almost two decade span. They all werent all that good either. This makes up for the hundreds of boring fights or clinchfests in the division how?

[Kalan]

That's 15 Fights and just add your favorite to the list -- because there's a Hell of a lot MORE.

Compared to any other 18 year period -- the 18 years of the 21st Century produced more Heavyweight thrills...

What was your fav period??? Where were all the smashing Heavyweight Fights??? Ali-Evangelista???