In their annual year end awards Ring Magazine, "the Bible of boxing," named super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez as their fighter of the year for 2021 on Wednesday. Alvarez, widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport, fought three times this year stopping Avni Yildirim in February, then stopping Billy Joe Saunders in May to add Saunders WBO super middleweight crown to his WBA and WBC titles. The fight with Saunders drew more than 73,000 fans to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, an all-time record for an indoor boxing event.

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Alvarez capped his year by stopping Caleb Plant in November to claim Plant's IBF super middleweight championship making Alvarez, 31, the first fighter in history to hold all four major super middleweight titles. In doing so he's the first Mexican fighter in the three or four belt eras to become an undisputed champion at any weight.

Ring also named October's epic third battle between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, won by Fury, as their fight of the year.