Criteria Be involved in a significant fight Fight multiple times or in a big fight Victory had to have made an impact Cannot suffer a loss or draw note: I was reluctant to add Keith Thurman to this list... Did I miss anyone? Add your own!
It has to be: Manny Pacquiao. Two wins against unbeaten champions. Beat the unbeaten Top 5 P4P WBO Welterweight Champion Bradley. Beat the unbeaten WBO World Light Welterweight Champion Algieri. No other boxer had two back to back victories like that in 2014.
To continue the trend set by the above poster, I will enlarge my text: Certainly Inoue if he beats Narvaez convincingly Amnat Ruenroeng Roman Gonzalez Terence Crawford Manny Pacquiao Sergei Kovalev Nicholas Walters (big drop off)
Hmm. The two standout most deserving candidates aren't even on the poll. Soooo, I guess I'll vote for Crawford.
You forgot to mention "Criteria-must have fought on US TV" Typical bull**** that really sums up the modern day boxing fan.
Pacquiao or Kovalev for me. Crawford's wins over Gamboa, Burns, and Beltran are C+/B level at BEST. Crawford had a MASSIVE size advantage over Gamboa (he as much as admitted this), and was getting schooled at times. Burns is Euro-level and Beltran had already broken that jaw. Beltran's just a tough customer, but nothing more.
Bradley doesn't look like such a fantastic win after last nights performance and Algeiri was always a mismatch and dragged up from 140. Apart from ancient Hopkins that got beaten by Dawson in his last meaningful fight, Kovalev has no notable wins this year