Thomas Hauser was the big winner in the 2025 Boxing Writers Association of America’s Bernie Writing Awards. Between his first, second and third place finishes in various categories, Hauser captured five spots in the top three. His two first-place finishes in the categories of Boxing Event Coverage and Boxing Investigative Reporting were for The Guardian. His second place for Boxing News Story and one of his third-place finishes for Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 words) were also for The Guardian. Hauser’s other third-place finish for Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 words) was for The Ring. The other first-place winners were:
Eric Raskin, Boxing Column, BoxingScene.com; Lance Pugmire, Boxing News Story, Boxing Scene; Tris Dixon, Boxing Feature Under 1,500 words, Boxing Scene; Michael Rothstein, Boxing Feature Over 1,500 words, ESPN.com
The BWAA’s 101st Annual Awards Dinner is Thursday, June 25th at the Edison Ballroom, New York, NY. Cocktails commence at 7 pm while the dinner and awards start at 8:00. Tickets are $275 per person. For further information, contact BWAA president Joe Santoliquito at: jsantoliquitoBWAA@yahoo.com
The complete list of all the winners and Honorable Mention finishers is as follows:
2025 BERNIE WRITING AWARD WINNERS
BOXING EVENT COVERAGE
First Place: THOMAS HAUSER, “The Saudi Boxing Juggernaut Comes to Times Square,” The Guardian, May 3, 2025
Second Place: ELLIOT WORSELL, “We Know Oleksandr Usyk Feels, But Is He Actually Human?” BoxingScene.com, July 20, 2025
Third Place: JIMMY TOBIN, “An End Appropriate in Magnitude: Terence Crawford Dominates Saul Alvarez,” InbetweenRounds.com, September 14, 2025
Honorable Mention: Manouk Akopyan, The Ring; Tris Dixon, Boxing Scene; Jason Langendorf, Boxing Scene; Kieran Mulvaney, BoxingScene.com; Dan Rafael, danrafael.substack.com; David Weinberg, 973ESPN.com
BOXING COLUMN
First Place: ERIC RASKIN, “The Golden Age of Women’s Boxing – And the Consequences That Await,” BoxingScene.com, March 27, 2025
Second Place (Tie): OLIVER FENNELL, “Use Your Delusion,” Boxing News, October 30, 2025 / DAN RAFAEL, “Tales from an Unforgettable July 4th Boxing BBQ for the Ages,” danrafael.substack.com, July 2, 2025
Third Place (Tie): NORM FRAUENHEIM, “Remembering the Writer, Fighter and Charming Curmudgeon Michael Katz,” Boxing Scene, January 29, 2025 / ELLIOT WORSELL, “Pay-Per-View, Paywalls and Now Real Walls Keep the World Out,” BoxingScene.com, May 9, 2025
Honorable Mention: Matthew Aguilar, Fights ATW; Tris Dixon, Boxing Scene; David Greisman, BoxingScene.com; Lee Groves, The Ring; Andreas Hale, ESPN; Ryan Songalia, BoxingScene.com; Don Stradley, Donstradley.blogspot.com
BOXING NEWS STORY
First Place: LANCE PUGMIRE, “Everything We Know About the New TKO Boxing League – From Payments to Potential Problems,” Boxing Scene, March 19, 2025
Second Place: THOMAS HAUSER, “BoxRaw’s Sparring Club,” The Guardian, August 9, 2025
Third Place: DAN RAFAEL, “Iconic Two-Time Heavyweight George Foreman Dies,” danrafael.substack.com, June 7, 2024
Honorable Mention: Alan Dawson, Uncrowned.com; Tris Dixon, Boxing Scene; Norm Frauenheim, The Boxing Hour; David Greisman, BoxingScene.com; Don Stradley, The Ring; Elliot Worsell, Uncrowned.com
BOXING FEATURE (Under 1,500 words)
First Place: TRIS DIXON, “They Called Me Mr. Eddie,” Boxing Scene, October 27, 2025
Second Place (Tie): OLIVER FENNELL, “Elite Operator,” Boxing News, August 7, 2025 / NORM FRAUENHEIM, “Quiet Man: Bam Rodriguez, a Dad with More to Fight For,” The Boxing Hour, November 22, 2025
Third Place (Tie): THOMAS HAUSER, “The Thrilla in Manila Fifty Years Later,” The Guardian, September 30, 2025 / RYAN O’HARA, “The Battle of Eras: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Terence Crawford,” Fights Around the World, October 1, 2025
Honorable Mention: Manouk Akopyan, The Ring; David Greisman, BoxingScene.com; Lee Groves, The Ring; Eric Raskin, BoxingScene.com; Joseph Santoliquito, Philadelphia Inquirer; Don Stradley, The Ring
BOXING FEATURE (Over 1,500 words)
First Place: MICHAEL ROTHSTEIN, “Heather Hardy’s Bouts Are Behind Her, but a Bigger Fight Lies Ahead’,” ESPN.com, April 18, 2025
Second Place: TRIS DIXON, “The Heart and Soul Behind a Boxing Wonderland,” Boxing Scene, September 25. 2025
Third Place (Tie): THOMAS HAUSER, “Michael Katz: A Remembrance,” The Ring, January 4-5, 2025 / SEAN NAM, “Brawl for All: How Clout Chasers Ruined Boxing,” The Baffler, June 2025
Honorable Mention: Gordon Marino, Examined Life; Lance Pugmire, Boxing Scene; Don Stradley, donstradley.blogspot.com; Elliot Worsell, BoxingScene.com
BOXING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
First Place: THOMAS HAUSER, “The Tragic Cautionary Tale of Paul Bamba,” The Guardian, March 28, 2025
Second Place: ALAN DAWSON, “This Is a Power Grab: What Boxing Insiders Really Think About Planned Revisions to Ali Act,” Uncrowned.com, August 19, 2025
Third Place: TRIS DIXON, “Investigating Boxing’s Unhealthy Relationship with Performance Enhancing Drugs,” Boxing Scene, February 26, 2025
Honorable Mention: Abraham Gonzalez, FightsATW.com; Ryan O’Hara, Fights Around the World; Eric Raskin, BoxingScene.com; Elliot Worsell, Uncrowned.com
The judges for the 2025 Bernie’s were: Ron Borges, former Boston Globe and Boston Herald, IBHOF; Tommy Deas, USA Today Sports Network; Steve Farhood, former Showtime Boxing Commentator, former Ring Magazine Editor, IBHOF; Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News (retired), former BWAA President, IBHOF: Anthony Carter Paige, WFAN (retired), former BWAA President; Kyle Wagner, Director of Sports Content, New York Daily News.
