2015 Fighter of the year: Canelo Alvarez

— -- In 2013, Canelo Alvarez, Mexico's biggest boxing star, turned back a stiff challenge from Austin Trout to win a decision and unify two junior middleweight belts but then lost them, along with his undefeated record, by decision to Floyd Mayweather in a fight that generated more money than any boxing match in history, other than Mayweather's fight against Manny Pacquiao in May.

Despite the loss, Alvarez had arrived as a money-making machine. The fight with Trout had drawn a crowd of some 40,000 to the Alamodome in San Antonio and Alvarez's presence in the fight with Mayweather was the major reason it generated around $150 million.

Alvarez would go on to headline smaller pay-per-views in 2014 against Alfredo Angulo and Erislandy Lara, doing solid business in the 300,000-plus buy range as he won both fights.

But in 2015, the 25-year-old Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), who signed an exclusive contract with HBO in late 2014, really came into his own both in terms of his ability as a fighter and as the face of boxing in the post Mayweather-Pacquiao era.

Alvarez not only showed he was one of the best fighters in the ring -- he won the lineal middleweight championship from a future Hall of Famer -- but also continued to show he is a financial rainmaker outside of it, the fulcrum on which so much boxing business rests, and that is why he is the 2015 ESPN.com fighter of the year.

"Canelo has been fighting for 10 years now, but he's still only 25 years old," Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya said of his company's most important fighter. "I think the best is yet to come with him. He has grown as a fighter every year, learning from victories and his losses. Legacy is important to him, and when all is said and done, I know he will be remembered as one of the best in the sport."