IBHOF director Ed Brophy held a press conference today to announce the class of 2015 inductees. Headlining the living boxers were Ray Boom Boom Mancini, Rid**** Big Daddy Bowe, Prince Naseem Hamed (all Modern category), Yoko Gushiken (Old Timer). Other living inductees include referee Steve Smoger (Non-participant). manager Rafael Mendoza (Non-participant), broadcaster Jim Lampley (Observer), and editor/journalist Nigel Collins (Observer). The posthumous inductees include former champs Masao Ohba (Old timer) and Ken Overlin (Old timer) and publicist John F.X. Condon (Non-participant). Very weak class.
I'm not thrilled with the latest crop either, but if you are going to have a hall of fame you have to put people in there, especially people that will draw people to induction weekend, it is a business after all. Happy for Boom-Boom, borderline I know but he is a great ambassador for boxing and came to fight every time. Bowe is probably only in because he was undisputed heavyweight champion. I think he squandered his talent and with all his cheap shots and dirty fighting he wouldn't have gotten my vote if I had one. Hamed, I guess I can live with, but he is certainly no slam-dunk. I guess it just depends what your personal criteria is, we all have our personal halls of fame, in my world Bennie Briscoe would have gotten in years ago. Also, with guys like this going in I think my man Marvin Johnson deserves a look. His career was at least as good as Boom-Booms. Nice to see John Condon make it too.
3 famous boxers going into the boxing hall of fame? shocking. i am a bit suprised curry didn't get the nod tho (i'm sure he was up this year)
I love Boom Boom Mancini but I don't think he's HOF material. Prince Naseem was a long reigning titlist and brought excitement to a division that had been dead for a while. I can see an argument for him squeaking in. Rid**** Bowe is on the border line for me. His resume doesn't have much depth, but his three battles with ATG Evander Holyfield brought a lot to the table in the 90's and those fights helped to shape the decade. Jim Lampley should definitely end up in there at some point. The man has been an awesome broadcaster for the better part of the past 30 years and was involved in a lot of great fights.
Give Chico time and he might make it, although his ****ty streak outside of the ring might be worthy of excluding him.
Hamed is proof that hype and sensationalism can outlive a fighter's career and impress otherwise intelligent people after he's retired. A string of stoppage wins against has-beens and never-weres, even then struggling desperately several times, before being trounced by the one genuinely great, at-his-best fighter he ever fought.
Hamed is a vastly overrated fighter agreed. You'll get some fanatical Brits that will argue with that, but he was what he was....and that's all that he was.
You won't even get many Brits arguing Cobra. I'm English and Hamed is widely considered the most overrated, hateful, obnoxious man in the modern era of British boxing.
Its funny how people claim Hamed is overrated yet he also factors as ATG Barrerras best win outside Morales. You cant have it both ways. Either give MAB credit for beating Hamed and admit Hamed was very good or call Hamed overrated and stop giving MAB credit for beating an overhyped bum Its the same as people calling Tyson overrated and yet elevate Holyfield because "he beat Tyson" Id say Hamed more than deserves the HOF, he is one of Britains best fighters ever.
The only way Naz deserves a spot in the hall is because he captured peoples imaginations with his ring walks, ****iness, **** talking and KO's of bums. As for resume he deserves no where near the HOF but there's already worse there. The Halls a joke anyway so just put the **** in and be end this ****.
his resume was solid, not th best, just because you don't know anything about his opposition gives you no right to label his opposition as bums