The accolade for Tsutsumi and Higa was announced as the winner of the accolade at The Ring’s second annual awards gala on Friday at Cipriani’s in New York. Midway through the ninth at Ariake Arena in Japan, Higa (21-3-3, 19 KOs) connected with a huge left hook that sent Tsutsumi to the canvas for the first time in his career. The bloodied Tsutsumi (13-0-3, 8 KOs) rose to his feet, and barely a moment after the action resumed, Higa, 30, sprinted across the ring seeking a finish that would have netted him the WBA bantamweight title. Tsutsumi, 30, held onto Higa as he smothered his attack to buy himself some time to recover. Both fighters traded big right hands before Tsutsumi went back on the move with his Japanese countryman hot on his trail. Then, with Tsutsumi’s back inching closer to a neutral corner, he stood his ground and connected with a flush straight right hand that sent Higa face-first to the canvas as the normally quiet Japanese crowd reached a euphoric pitch. Higa struggled to get up but beat the count as he rose to his feet on unsteady legs. The round had flipped on its head, as Higa was far more hurt than Tsutsumi had been. Tsutsumi landed a flurry of punches as Higa nearly went down for a second time before stumbling along the ropes and grabbing onto him. Tsutsumi was able to shake free from his grasp, and Higa stumbled across the ring to the ropes. He grabbed onto Tsutsumi again, and as the latter was looking to line up one more big shot referee Yuji Fukuchi stepped in to break them apart as the bell rang to end the round. Tsutsumi and Higa fought to a unanimous draw, with all three judges scoring it 114-114. They also fought to a majority draw in 2020 in a 10-round bout. Here were the other finalists for the round of the year (chronologically):