Tyson Fury has made the early running for WBN Fighter of the Year for 2018 after an exceptional comeback to the sport.
The 30 year-old was a knockdown away from regaining the world heavyweight crown in a draw against Deontay Wilder last month.
Fury has since been lauded for hauling himself off the canvas in the final round. ‘The Gypsy King’ had a look buried by a huge Wilder shot until the count of seven.
With 36% of the initial poll, Fury tops media choice Oleksandr Usyk in becoming a two-horse race in the opening stages.
Usyk completely unified the cruiserweight division when claiming the first-ever World Boxing Super Series. The formidable Ukrainian followed up that achievement by retiring Tony Bellew.
The Olympic gold medallist has 26% of the vote, a far way ahead of the 2016 winner and compatriot Vasyl Lomachenko in third.
Canelo Alvarez is fourth, whilst Wilder himself is fifth.
Furthermore, voting closes on January 18th.
Last year, Gennady Golovkin took the title for the fourth time.
Cast your vote:
Nominees:
Vasyl Lomachenko: The Ukrainian won the trophy in 2016 with a whopping 76% after a stellar year. ‘Loma’ was beaten in 2017 by the resurgent Gennady Golovkin with 48% of the poll. In 2018, Lomachenko won a third-weight world title when defeating Jorge Linares. He then unified after shoulder surgery against Jose Pedraza in December.
Canelo Alvarez: Defeating Gennady Golovkin in September was followed up by a third-weight world title against Rocky Fielding three months later.
Oleksandr Usyk: The inaugural World Boxing Super Series champion. Usyk then went on to stop Tony Bellew in a huge UK event. He beat the number two and three in his division and is a strong contender to lift the crown.
Mikey Garcia: Becoming a four-weight world champion at 140 pounds in 2018. Garcia then unified the lightweight division for good measure.
Tyson Fury: One of the comeback stories of all time, Fury was a knockdown from regaining the world heavyweight crown.
Deontay Wilder: ‘The Bronze Bomber’ enjoyed a stellar year when stopping Luis Ortiz. Wilder then almost wiped out Fury in a Fight of the Year contender.
Naoya Inoue: Japan’s newest superstar, Inoue proved why he’s called ‘The Monster’ when halting two world-class fighters in a combined total of three minutes and two seconds.
Anthony Joshua: The current heavyweight champion, Joshua, further unified the division. The Briton then fended off the challenge of top contender Alexander Povetkin.
Josh Warrington: Winning two high-profile UK world title clashes as the underdog. Warrington earned his spot with a Fight of the Year display against Carl Frampton.
Donnie Nietes: Becoming only the third Filipino to win world titles at four weights sees Nietes on the list.
Kosei Tanaka: The 23-year-old two-time WBN Young Fighter of the Year scored a third-weight world title in just his twelfth bout last September.
Callum Smith: Winning the WBSS accolade and Ring Magazine title at 168 pounds. ‘Mundo’ deserves his place among the elite for 2018.
