Oleksandr Usyk earns BWAA Fighter of the Year, other winners announced

The Boxing Writers Association of America on Monday released the results of its annual awards naming the best fighter, fight, trainer and manager of 2024, as well as several supporting honors.

Lineal, unified and de facto undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who defeated Tyson Fury twice in 2024, was named the BWAA Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year.

Usyk was also involved in what may be the BWAA’s other most prestigious award, the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier Fight of the Year, which went to his first meeting with Fury. Usyk battled and defeated Fury over 12 rounds on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Eddie Futch Trainer of the Year award went to Robert Garcia, who runs his eponymous boxing academy in Oxnard, California. In 2024, Garcia guided emerging pound-for-pound junior bantamweight star Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and new junior middleweight interim titleholder Vergil Ortiz Jnr, among others, while helping construct the perfect game plan for Jose Valenzuela to upset Isaac Cruz in August.

Egis Klimas was named the BWAA’s Cus D’Amato Manager of the Year. Klimas manages Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, who bounced back from a 2023 defeat to Devin Haney with a win over George Kambosos Jnr to win a lightweight title last May in Kambosos’ native Australia.

Additional BWAA 2024 awards winners include Bruce Silverglade (Good Guy); Marv Albert (Broadcast); Brad Goodman (Meritorious Service); Prichard Colon (Courage in Overcoming Adversity).

Full list of BWAA awards winners and nominees are as follows:

Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year: Oleksandr Usyk

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez

Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier Fight of the Year: Oleksandr Usyk W 12 Tyson Fury I

Raymond Ford KO 12 Otabek Kholmatov

Derek Chisora W 10 Joe Joyce

Vergil Ortiz Jnr W 12 Serhii Bohachuk

Kenshiro Teraji W 12 Carlos Canizales

Oleksandr Usyk W 12 Tyson Fury I 

Eddie Futch Trainer of the Year: Robert Garcia

Cus D’Amato Manager of the Year: Egis Klimas

Marvin Kohn Good Guy: Bruce Silverglade

Sam Jackson/Andrew Roberts 

Sam Taub Broadcast: Marv Albert

Barney Nagler Long and Meritorious Service: Brad Goodman

John McCain & Bill Crawford Courage in Overcoming Adversity: Prichard Colon and family 

Prichard Colon and family