The Ring was established in 1922. Since 1928, it has named a fighter as Fighter of the Year, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. This award is a gold and silver medal given to the boxer, who, during the year previous, has by his conduct and fighting qualities "earned the esteem of the sports public." The four points which originally governed the award were:
- He must be foremost in his contribution to the skill and the science of boxing and he need not be a champion.
- The recipient must combine with his high place in the ranking of fighters a similar position as a sportsman.
- He must associate with the abilities as a fighter good public relations and a reputation for clean and moral living.
- The boxer receiving the award must be recognized as an example to the growing youth.
Here is a list of Ring Magazine's Fighters of the Year:
Famous quotes containing the words ring, magazine, fighters and/or year:
“Genius resembles a bell; in order to ring it must be suspended into pure air, and when a foreign body touches it, its joyful tone is silenced.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“Men have two ways of righting their wrongs, by force and by the ballot. Both are denied to women, one by nature, the other by man.”
—Ida A. Harper 1851–1931, U.S. women’s magazine contributor. Fireman’s Magazine, repr. In The Woman’s Magazine, pp. 423-5 (May 1887)
“O can’t you see, brother—
Death’s a congested road for fighters now,
and hero a cheap label.”
—C.D. Andrews (1913–1992)
“We hold on to hopes for next year every year in western Dakota: hoping that droughts will end; hoping that our crops won’t be hailed out in the few rainstorms that come; hoping that it won’t be too windy on the day we harvest, blowing away five bushels an acre; hoping ... that if we get a fair crop, we’ll be able to get a fair price for it. Sometimes survival is the only blessing that the terrifying angel of the Plains bestows.”
—Kathleen Norris (b. 1947)