Best Fighter ESPY Award

Best Fighter ESPY Award
Awarded forbest fighter
Presented byESPN
First awarded2007
Last awarded2018
Websitewww.espn.co.uk/espys/

The Best Fighter ESPY Award was an annual award honoring the achievements of an individual from the world of combat sports. The Best Fighter ESPY Award trophy was presented to the professional or amateur boxer or mixed martial artist adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2007, subsuming the Best Boxer ESPY Award[1] until 2019, when the Best MMA Fighter ESPY Award was established, and the ESPY Awards began awarding boxers and mixed martial arts fighters separately. Balloting for the award was undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts.[2] It was conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.[3]

The inaugural winner of the Best Fighter ESPY Award was American welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., who defeated the incumbent category title holder Oscar De La Hoya two months prior.[4] He is one of two people to have been presented with the award more than once, winning the accolade a total of six times;[5] Mayweather was also nominated in 2015.[6] Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao has the second most awards won with victories in 2009 and 2011.[7] It has been presented to one woman in its history, American bantamweight mixed martial arts fighter Ronda Rousey in 2015.[6] Between 2007 and 2018, boxers were most successful at the ESPY Awards with nine victories and twenty-four nominations, followed by mixed martial arts with three wins and nineteen nominations.

  1. ^ Taylor, Tom (July 13, 2017). "Sorry Conor McGregor, Demetrious Johnson wins the ESPY for "Fighter of the Year"". BJ Penn. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Nelson, Murry R. (2013). American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols and Ideas. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 399–401. ISBN 978-0-313-39753-0. Archived from the original on March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "New categories unveiled for The 2002 ESPY Awards" (Press release). ESPN. 2002. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  4. ^ "ESPYs: Couture and Jackson miss out". MMA Mania. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  5. ^ Orosa, Rosalinda L. (July 17, 2014). "Mayweather edges Pacquiao, cops 2014 ESPY Best Fighter plum". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Floyd Mayweather taunted by UFC star Ronda Rousey". The Daily Telegraph. July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Ramos, Josef T. (July 15, 2011). "Pacquiao wins second ESPY Award". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018 – via PressReader.