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Home » Early frontrunner in race for WBN Fighter of the Year 2019

Early frontrunner in race for WBN Fighter of the Year 2019

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An early leader has emerged after Day One of voting for the WBN Fighter of the Year 2019. The list of candidates eligible for top prize at the WBN Boxing Awards was announced on December 10th.

As things stand, World Boxing Super Series winner Josh Taylor is out in front. Second place sees Pound for Pound King Canelo Alvarez mounting a challenge

Of the boxers on the shortlist, only one has currently been cut adrift, Mexican Juan Estrada.

Naoya Inoue, Anthony Joshua and Manny Pacquiao make up the chasing pack. Deontay Wilder and Errol Spence are now at an outside chance in the opening stages.

Cast your vote from the candidates below:

ERROL SPENCE JR.

The current unified welterweight champion defeated Mikey Garcia and Shawn Porter to cement his place as one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet.

Spence’s latter fight with Porter will go down as one of the greatest in 2019.

CANELO

On the back of beating Gennady Golovkin controversially in 2018, Canelo went on to further unify at middleweight before defeating Sergio Kovalev at 175 pounds.

Canelo is now one of just a few Mexican fighters to win world titles in four weight divisions.

MANNY PACQUIAO

The ‘Pacman’ returned to the forefront big time in 2019. After a couple of years in the wilderness on the back of losing to Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao came back with a vengeance.

Wins over Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman proved life can begin at 40 for some.

DEONTAY WILDER

‘The Bronze Bomber’ built on his draw with Fury in December with two stunning knockouts. Dominic Breazeale was dispatched in a round before Luis Ortiz even more convincingly than the first.

Wilder’s ten world title defenses and all-round excitement mean the American now the number one heavyweight in the world.

JOSH TAYLOR

Scotland’s hero picked up the World Boxing Super Series crown after a tremendous battle with Regis Prograis in the UK.

Taylor pushed himself as a major name in the super-lightweight division and could go for undisputed status in 2020.

ANTHONY JOSHUA

Back holding all the aces at 200 pounds plus after capitulating badly against Andy Ruiz Jr. in June, redemption was certainly sweet for Anthony Joshua.

Boxing his way to a victory against a massively overweight Ruiz in their rematch means Joshua is once again clutching four world titles.

NAOYA INOUE

What a year for Naoya Inoue. Knockout after knockout and impressive performance in the WBSS was followed up by a legacy-altering match-up with Nonito Donaire.

The pair went hell-for-leather in a bid to claim the Ali Trophy, with Inoue coming out on top to the delight of his home crowd.

JUAN ESTRADA

Mexcian hero Juan Estrada defeated Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2019 to become a two-weight world champion.

Avenging a previous loss in the process, Estrada is currently in the Top Ten P4P on merit.

Make your choice below:

With Taylor ahead, fans of the Scot will be pleased after disappointment following a BBC Sports Personality of the Year snub.

Despite a stellar year, Taylor was not nominated for their polling process.

VOTING

The poll closes on January 7th, 2020 when the winner will be finalized.

Only one vote per person is permitted.

Regular updates will be provided on the WBN website as voting continues.