Heavyweight Tyson Fury has beaten off some stiff competition to land the WBN Fighter of the Year Award for 2018.
The 30 year-old out-voted standout cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk to claim the title previously held by Gennady Golovkin.
Fury was able to claim over double the amount polled by the Ukrainian in the only FOTY accolade voted for by the fans.
In an amazing triumph over adversity, Fury came back from the brink of oblivion to shed TEN STONE in weight.
Making the decision to return to the ring following a three-year absence in late November. Fury almost claimed the WBC title from Deontay Wilder just over twelve months later.
It was a truly inspiring story and now sees ‘The Gypsy King’ cap off his remarkable comeback with the WBN Trophy.
Furthermore, Fury was just three minutes away from defeating Wilder on points in Los Angeles. If that wasn’t enough of a ‘movie script’ ending to 2018, Fury was almost sparked by the American and was for all intents and purposes ‘knocked out for the count’ until a truly unbelievable awakening.
Referee Jack Reiss must take credit for not waving off the contest instantly as Fury lay flat on his back. At the count of seven, Fury opened his eyes to the astonishment of the crowd and immediately got to his feet making the count of nine.
His antics instantly became a meme in ‘WWE Undertaker’ fashion, although the feat was made all the more staggering by the backstory of Fury’s return to the ring.
Usyk came second in the poll, whilst Fury rival Anthony Joshua shared third place with 2016 winner Vasyl Lomachenko.
Canelo saw off Josh Warrington for fifth place after defeating Golovkin and Rocky Fielding in 2018.
Fury will be presented with the trophy in the coming weeks as talks continue for a rematch with Wilder.
Wilder, Mikey Garcia, Donnie Nietes, Naoya Inoue, Callum Smith and Kosei Tanaka made up the rest of the field.
A full list of the award winners for 2018 will be announced next week.
2017 AWARD WINNERS
- WBN Fighter of the Year: Gennady Golovkin (48%)
- Editor’s Choice: Gennady Golovkin
- Fight of the Year: Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko
- Young Fighter of the Year (23 Under): Daigo Higa
- Pound for Pound Breakthrough: Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
- Stoppage of 2017: Deontay Wilder (vs Bermane Stiverne)
- Trainer of the Year: Anatoly Lomachenko
- Comeback of 2017: Floyd Mayweather
- World title prospect of 2018: Nicola Adams
Click here for the WBN Awards page 2010 – 2018
