Naoya Inoue and Katie Taylor are set to be honored at the IBF’s annual awards ceremony, staged in Vietnam on May 27, as part of their 41st annual convention.
Inoue, 33-0 (27 KOs), fought four times in 2025 when he defeated Ye Joon Kim (KO 4), Ramon Cardenas (TKO 8), Murodjon Akhmadaliev (UD 12) and David Picasso (UD 12). The 33-year-old, who kicked off his 2026 campaign with a points victory over Junto Nakatani, will pick up the Jersey Joe Walcott Award as the IBF’s male fighter of the year.
Katie Taylor, meanwhile, will be named as the female fighter of the year.
The 39-year-old only had one fight in 2025 but it was among the most impressive of her glittering 25-1 (6 KOs) career. She defeated long-time rival Amanda Serrano in the third and surely final instalment of their rivalry in July. The 10-round points win, inside Madison Square Garden, followed two other – somewhat controversial – wins on the cards over the same distance in 2022 and 2024. There was no doubting Taylor’s superiority in fight three, however.
Picking up gongs for fights of the year will be: Masamichi Yabuki TKO 12 Angel Ayala (IBF fight of the year); Elif Nur Turhan TKO 5 Beatriz Ferreira (IBF female fight of the year); Conah Walker TKO 12 Pat McCormack (intercontinental fight of the year); Michael Angeletti UD 10 Eros Correa (USBA fight of the year); Ryang Ho Han TKO 9 Ramil Roda (IBF international fight of the year).
“These honors are truly well earned, reflecting the dedication, discipline, and hard work each boxer has demonstrated in pursuit of success at the highest level of boxing. It is a privilege to recognize and celebrate the achievements of our champions and the fighters who competed in IBF title bouts in 2025. We look forward to honoring them,” said IBF President Daryl Peoples.
