The "Sugar Ray Robinson Award" (previously known as the Edward J. Neil Trophy) is given to the Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Year. The BWAA first presented the trophy in 1938. The original purpose of the trophy was to recognize "an individual who did the most for boxing in the previous year." Over time, the award went strictly to the best fighter of each year as decided by the BWAA. The members of the BWAA vote to decide the best boxer each year regardless of weight class or nationality.

The award was previously named for Edward J. Neil, an Associated Press sportswriter and war correspondent who was killed in 1938 while reporting on the Spanish Civil War. The 2009 award was renamed after boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson. The "Fighter of the Year" award is presented with other honors given by the BWAA at an annual awards dinner.

Starting with the 1990s, the BWAA also began to give an award for "Fighter of the Decade." The winners of this award are listed at the end of each decade along with the "Fighter of the Year" winners. (** not an active boxer in year of winning award)

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). His album Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA.

Born in the South Jamaica of Queens, New York City, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won eight world titles, as well as the Lineal Championship in three different weight classes. He is a two-time The Ring "Fighter of the Year," winning the award in 1998 and 2007 also won the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) "Fighter of the Year" award in 2007 and Best Fighter ESPY Award 2007, 2008 and 2010. He is undefeated as a professional boxer.

Currently, Mayweather is the WBC Welterweight Champion,WBA (Super) Light Middleweight Champion and recipient of the WBC Diamond belt. He is also rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including Sports Illustrated, ESPN, BoxRec, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports and About.com.

Mayweather was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., into a family of boxers. His father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., was a former welterweight contender who fought Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard and his uncles, Jeff Mayweather and Roger Mayweather, were all professional boxers, with Roger – Floyd’s current trainer – winning two world championships. Mayweather was born with his mother's last name, but his last name would change to Mayweather shortly thereafter.

Nonito Donaire, Jr. (born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American professional boxer. Known as "The Filipino Flash," Donaire is a four-division world champion and the reigning WBO Super Bantamweight Champion. He is also the former WBC and WBO Bantamweight, Interim WBA Super Flyweight and IBF Flyweight Champion.

He is a known switch-hitter with the ability to fight either southpaw or orthodox. His surname is often mispronounced as do-nayr but it's properly pronounced as do-nigh-reh.

Donaire is currently rated by The Ring as the number four pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

Nonito Donaire was born in Talibon, Bohol, Philippines to Filipino parents, Nonito Sr. and Imelda Donaire. He is the third among four siblings: Glenn, Rosiel and Ermie. Back then, there was no electricity in Bohol. He grew up in General Santos City, South Cotabato, where he lived until age six and went to the same school as boxing icon eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. His father, a second year high school dropout, was in the Philippine Army for eight years and fought as an amateur before trying his luck alone in the US in 1990. In 1993, at the age of eleven, he had joined his father in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California and they lived in San Leandro. He later moved to San Mateo in the Bay Area.

Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American boxer and former Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion. He became the oldest boxer to ever win a world title, when at age 46, he defeated Jean Pascal on May 21, 2011 by a unanimous decision, surpassing the record previously held by George Foreman.

Hopkins is also the former undisputed world middleweight champion, and the first fighter to retain all 4 world titles of each major boxing sanctioning body, plus The Ring belt, in the same fight. Having defended a world middleweight title a record 20 times, he is considered one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time. The Ring ranked him #3 on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."

In addition to being an active boxer, Hopkins is also a minority partner with Golden Boy Promotions.

Born to Bernard Hopkins, Sr. and his wife Sue, Bernard grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects with his family. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life. By the age of thirteen he was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Graterford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing. After serving almost five years, Hopkins was released from prison in 1988. He then decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life, and converted to Islam. While leaving the prison for the final time, the warden told Hopkins he'd "see [Hopkins] again when you wind up back here," to which Hopkins replied "I ain't ever coming back here."