By: Ivan Gallegos

With 2024 coming to an end, and it being one of the best years for boxing in a very long time, with promoters and fighters finally coming together to make the fights the fans want to see thanks to Turki Alalshikh, let's look back and see which fighters had the best 2024.

Oleksandr Usyk (23-0 14 KOs)

Usyk is an obvious inclusion, having conquered his second weight class by running through the division to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. To claim that undisputed title, the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world defeated one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and a longtime rival, Tyson Fury, in one of the best fights of 2024. Then, to defend his titles, he defeated Fury in a rematch earlier this month, solidifying himself as an all-time great in not just the heavyweight division but in the sport of boxing.

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs)

If not for Usyk, this man would have been named Fighter of the Year. With one amazing performance after another, Bam has finally announced himself to the world. After ending 2023 by beating Sunny Edwards, the best contender at flyweight, Bam moved up to super flyweight and defeated Juan Fransico "Gallo" Estrada in one of the fights of the year. He ended that fight with a brutal body shot, sending the super flyweight legend to the canvas in immense pain, winning the WBC and Ring magazine super flyweight titles as a two-division world champion. Then he delivered another jaw-dropping knockout in his title defense against Pedro Guevara, cementing himself as a top-five pound-for-pound boxer and making himself one the most talked about fighters this year.

Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs)

2024 was a dominant year for Sheeraz, stopping Liam Williams in the first round back in February, then being named the captain of his promotion company Queensbury in the five versus five Riyadh Season event against Matchroom Boxing. Sheeraz secured the win for Queensbury by stopping another highly rated world title contender, Austin "Ammo" Williams, in a very entertaining fight. Then he knocks out the European middleweight champion Tyler Denny in Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 as the Co-Main event for the Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois Riyadh season event, announcing himself as one of the most dangerous middleweights in the world. The British boxer has earned himself a world title shot in February against Carlos Adames for the WBC World Middleweight title.

Daniel "Dynamite" Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs)

2024 was the year Dubois forced himself back into the heavyweight division mix. After seemingly giving up and getting stopped by Olexander Usyk in 2023, it seemed like his career was over with no confidence in himself. But then Dubois came back and beat Jerell "Big Baby" Miller in late 2023, followed by June 2024, where he stopped highly rated contender and favorite for the fight Filip Hrgovic in the Matchroom vs. Queensbury Riyadh season event, earning the interim IBF World Heavyweight title. Dubois then faced Anthony Joshua, the overwhelming favorite for the fight, who sought to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. But Dubois didn't get the memo as he completely dominated the fight, knocking Joshua down three times before delivering the viral final blow in the 5th round in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium.

Katie Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs)

Taylor may have only fought once this year, but that fight put her on this list. The Irish boxer successfully defended her Unified Super Lightweight world titles against Amanda Serrano in a rematch, which, like their first, was a candidate for the Fight of the Year. The two again showed the world how amazing women's boxing can be, this time on a bigger stage as the Co-Main event for the Jake Paul Vs Mike Tyson event in November that was streamed on Netflix by millions worldwide. Not only that, but she also went into enemy territory, fighting under the Paul and Serrano promotion, with most of the stadium and the biased commentators rooting for Serrano. Taylor still prevailed, defeating Serrano and defending her unified world titles, putting herself in the conversation for women's fighter of the year as an all-time great.

Skye Nicolson (12-0, 1 KO)

Finally, we have Nicolson, who started the year very well by becoming a world champion in just her tenth fight after defeating Sarah Mahfoud for the vacant WBC Featherweight title and then defending it against Dyana Vargas. Then she made history by having the first-ever women's fight on a Riyadh Season event against Raven Chapman, which most boxing fans believed Chapman would win due to the pressure being too much for Nicolson. But the exact opposite happened as the Australian star had fun outboxing Chapman, fighting on the back foot and landing clean and effective punches without taking any damage for ten rounds, showing the public just how ready she was for global stardom.

Many fighters had legendary runs this year, but these six stood out to me. Boxing is back for good, and 2025 looks to be another epic year for the sport, with these six fighters representing only a small part of what is to come. If you have not jumped on the train of boxing rising back to the top, now is a good time.