Crawford, Whittaker, Hitchins: The five best boxing rounds from 2025

2025 may be over, but the memories of another bumper boxing year will stay with fight fans well over the months and years to come.

Across a busy slate of non-stop action, there was no shortage of top-tier contenders, blockbuster knockouts and highlight-reel finishes to enjoy.

But sometimes, to get the true essence of a fight, you have to strip it back to three crucial minutes - a flash beyond the ring, and a lifetime within its confines.

Here, DAZN News celebrates five of the top rounds that saw fighters tear up the canvas during 2025.

#5: Jesse Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez (Round 10)

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs. Fernando “Puma” Martinez made it 10 rounds, and in that 10th round is where the heart of both fighters had their shine. Bam was relentless, throwing barrage after barrage of combos at Puma.

Queensberry/Leigh Dawney

Through that fire, Martinez kept pressing on - showing his heart as a former champion. He never stopped fighting back, regardless of how one-sided most of the fight may have been - and around a minute into the round, his heart showed the most.

The difference was written in both fighters' faces - Rodriguez still looking fresh and alert, while Martinez looked physically defeated - no matter how much he was on the defensive, he kept pressing forward, throwing wild counters and even hitting Bam with a strong left that set the crowd to roar. 

At 1:25 into the round, after taking that left, Bam slipped a wild right hand, followed by another, then countered with a strong left cross that sent Puma to the ground for good. 

#4: Richardson Hitchins vs George Kombosos Jr (Round 8)

Despite being 8 rounds into their bout, Hitchins vs. Kombosos both started cautious and calculated. Both fighters seemed like they didn't want to waste a single punch.

The round started with both fighters taking the center of the ring, Richardson continually sizing George up, almost as if he was gathering data on the exact targets he’d go onto hit later in the round. 30 seconds in and Hitchins began smelling blood, pouring a rain of perfectly timed punches to Kombosos over and over again.

Kombosos’s spirit never stopped working - through the round he continuously threw counters at every opportunity he was evading or even being hit by one of Hitchins’s strong jabs. With only 40 seconds remaining, Richardson hit Kombosos with a strong right cross to the chin followed by a devastating lead uppercut tot his liver that ended the entire fight.

#3: Nishant Dev vs Alton Wiggins (Round 1)

Nishant Dev made his professional debut against Alton Wiggins that was far from disappointing. The round opened up with Nishant delivering a hard 1-1-2 combo to Alton that sent his head flying back, leaving him off balance. 

Wiggins continued on, moving with a little more respect for Dev’s power, but Dev’s speed remained. He kept the fight fluid and springy, seemingly never standing still for even a moment.

The first knockdown came around the minute and a half mark - Dev landed two incredibly powerful crosses leaving Wiggins completely shook. He tried going for the clinch but Dev found a way to slip out of Wiggins grip, where he fell to the canvas.

After the first knockdown, you can tell Alton had a new respect for the rookie. Each blow Dev landed was knocking Wiggins back a fair few steps - culminating to an attempt of an uppercut from Alton that was met by two crushing hooks from Nishant’s right and then left that became the second knockdown of the fight.

With 30 seconds left on the clock, Wiggins walked back into the fight. The two fighters exchanged in messy barrages before Dev turned on the pressure cooker to 10 and proceeded to walk Wiggins down.

#2: Ben Whittaker vs Benjamin Gavazi (Round 1)

Ben “The Surgeon” Whittaker vs. Benjamin Gavazi was a very short lived bout, having both fighters only be in the ring for around 10 minutes. The battle of the Bens was a classic matchup of speed vs power. 

Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

Gavazi quickly tried applying the pressure on Whittaker, but The Surgeon kept him at a distance with his razor sharp jab for the first minute and a half of the fight. 10 seconds after, Gavazi was able to walk Whittaker into a corner, and The Surgeon unleashed a wild level changing combination, followed by a big right hand to Gavazi’s head for a knockdown. 

The German slugger got back on his feet and went back to trying to put on the pressure. With around a minute left, Whittaker grazed Gavazi’s chin with a left uppercut - he looked back at The Surgeon stunned with his eyes wide, and Whittaker tried to capitalize.

Gavazi tried locking Whittaker in the clinch, but Whittaker found his distance, delivered a precision-tight uppercut to Gavazi’s liver, and framed his opponent one last time before delivering one of the hardest right hooks to Gavazi’s chin - knocking him out cold.

#1: Terrence Crawford vs Canelo Alverez (Round 9)

By far, Canelo vs. Crawford was easily one of the best fights of the decade, and a lot of its most exciting moments came from the 9th round. This was the round that sealed the deal for Crawford, it’s when Bud, in his own words, “Set the tone,” for the entire match.

Canelo was loading up and trying to land big shots - Crawford was masterfully working every angle he could and landing tight, in pocket, counters to throw Alverez off balance. Their clashes saw Bud essentially getting on the inside for as long as he needed to unload the combinations and circle out - utilizing Canelo’s pressure against him.

Probing Canelo’s high guard up the middle to make room for sharp, and perfectly timed, hooks around the guard to the chin of the Mexican champion.

Canelo vs. Crawford was an intense battle between two counter-punching wizards - with the pinnacle of their performance laying in the 3 minutes that made up the 9th round.

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