Who is the fighter of the year so far through the first six months of 2022?

Here are the top six candidates with my selection

The first half of 2022 goes into the books this weekend, so who are the front-runners for fighter of the year through the first six months?

I have your answers right here. Here are the top six candidates in alphabetical order with my pick for the first-half winner at the end:

Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs)

Bivol, the WBA light heavyweight titlist, was a major underdog when he defended his crown in May against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, then the pound-for-pound king moving up in weight to challenge for Bivol’s title. But instead of the expected Alvarez victory, Bivol methodically took boxing’s biggest star apart en route to a clear unanimous decision to score by far his biggest victory and knock Canelo from the P4P perch.

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Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs)

Last summer, Charlo, holder of three junior middleweight titles, and Brian Castano, owner of one, met for the undisputed crown and battled to a split draw. It was a fight most thought Castano deserved to win. But when they met in the immediate rematch in May, Charlo left no doubt.

In a terrific fight, Charlo stopped Castano in the 10th round to become the first undisputed 154-pound champion of the four-belt era and the first undisputed champion since Winky Wright beat fellow Hall of Famer Shane Mosley to unify the three major belts in 2004.

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