Ring Magazine fights of the year: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Ring Magazine was established in 1922. Since 1945, it has named a fight as fight of the year, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Here is a list of Ring Magazine's fights of the year:

1940s

• 1945: Rocky Graziano KO10 Red Cochrane
• 1946: Tony Zale KO6 Rocky Graziano
• 1947: Rocky Graziano KO6 Tony Zale
• 1948: Marcel Cerdan KO12 Tony Zale
• 1949: Willie Pep W15 Sandy Saddler

• 1950: Jake LaMotta KO15 Laurent Dauthuille
• 1951: Jersey Joe Walcott KO7 Ezzard Charles
• 1952: Rocky Marciano KO13 Jersey Joe Walcott
• 1953: Rocky Marciano KO11 Roland LaStarza
• 1954: Rocky Marciano KO8 Ezzard Charles
• 1955: Carmen Basilio KO12 Tony DeMarco
• 1956: Carmen Basilio KO9 Johnny Saxton
• 1957: Carmen Basilio W15 Sugar Ray Robinson
• 1958: Sugar Ray Robinson W15 Carmen Basilio
• 1959: Gene Fullmer KO14 Carmen Basilio

• 1960: Floyd Patterson KO5 Ingemar Johansson
• 1961: Joe Brown W15 Dave Charnley
• 1962: Joey Giardello W10 Henry Hank
• 1963: Cassius Clay W10 Doug Jones
• 1964: Muhammad Ali KO7 Sonny Liston
• 1965: Floyd Patterson W12 George Chuvalo
• 1966: Jose Torres W15 Eddie Cotton
• 1967: Nino Benvenuti W15 Emile Griffith
• 1968: Dick Tiger W10 Frank DePaula
• 1969: Joe Frazier KO7 Jerry Quarry

• 1970: Carlos Monzon KO12 Nino Benvenuti
• 1971: Joe Frazier W15 Muhammad Ali
• 1972: Bob Foster KO14 Chris Finnegan
• 1973: George Foreman KO2 Joe Frazier
• 1974: Muhammad Ali KO8 George Foreman
• 1975: Muhammad Ali KO14 Joe Frazier
• 1976: George Foreman KO4 Ron Lyle
• 1977: Jimmy Young W12 George Foreman
• 1978: Leon Spinks W15 Muhammad Ali
• 1979: Danny Lopez KO15 Mike Ayala

• 1980: Matthew Saad Muhammad KO14 Yaqui Lopez
• 1981: Sugar Ray Leonard KO14 Thomas Hearns
• 1982: Bobby Chacon W15 Rafael Limon
• 1983: Bobby Chacon W12 Cornelius Boza-Edwards
• 1984: Jose Luis Ramirez KO4 Edwin Rosario
• 1985: Marvin Hagler KO3 Thomas Hearns
• 1986: Stevie Cruz W15 Barry McGuigan
• 1987: Sugar Ray Leonard W12 Marvin Hagler
• 1988: Tony Lopez W12 Rocky Lockridge
• 1989: Roberto Duran W12 Iran Barkley

• 1990: Julio Cesar Chavez KO12 Meldrick Taylor (fight #1)
• 1991: Robert Quiroga W12 Akeem Anifowoshe
• 1992: Riddick Bowe W12 Evander Holyfield
• 1993: Michael Carbajal KO7 Humberto Gonzalez
• 1994: Jorge Castro KO9 John David Jackson
• 1995: Saman Sorjaturong KO7 Humberto Gonzalez
• 1996: Evander Holyfield KO11 Mike Tyson
• 1997: Arturo Gatti KO5 Gabriel Ruelas
• 1998: Ivan Robinson W10 Arturo Gatti (fight #1)
• 1999: Paulie Ayala W12 Johnny Tapia (fight #1)

• 2000: Erik Morales W12 Marco Antonio Barrera
• 2001: Micky Ward W10 Emanuel Burton
• 2002: Micky Ward W10 Arturo Gatti
• 2003: Arturo Gatti W10 Micky Ward III

(Note: Those fights with the message fight #1 in parenthesis are fights that had a rematch with the same fighter winning)