Two familiar names and one relative newcomer to the uppermost tier of winners highlight the 19th annual Boxing Writers Association of America writing contest, covering the 2019 calendar year. Nine highly qualified judges took part in assessing the merits of another record number of entries, all of which were submitted minus bylines and other identifying marks as to authorship or media affiliation.

Under normal conditions, placing entries in the writing and photo contests would be recognized at the BWAA’s annual awards dinner, but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what would be the organization’s 94th annual event has yet to be scheduled and might even have to be pushed back into 2021 should the need arise.

Top individual honors again go to Mark Kriegel of ESPN.com, marking the third consecutive year in which he led the field and solidified his credentials as perhaps the finest boxing writer in America. Kriegel becomes just the second “hat trick” winner in the BWAA writing contest, taking three first places – in Event Coverage, Feature (Under 1,500 Words) and Feature (Over 1,500 Words).