Should Michael Moorer be in the HOF ?

He beat 4 former or future champs. Moorer beat a depleted Holy and Cooper... and went life and death with Fransie Botha. There is an argument to be made.

 

When you factor in the fame and magnitude of being the B side to Foreman's record breaking regaining of the title he may as well be.

The HOF is a bit of a farce really, resume is only one part of it.

 

True, it's weird that he couldn't get fights with any big names at 175. Moorer was a pretty big name coming out of the amateurs and had a rep for wrecking people from the beginning. I remember hearing about him at tournaments when I was fighting. With Manny Stewart in his corner, You would think he would get at least one of the bigger named guys to fight him. I have too think he would have beaten Hill and Maske though considering the names he beat at heavyweight on his way to Holyfield.

 

Not. Moorer held the WBO Light Heavyweight title when it was not a major world title. Just a win over prime Holyfield doesn't make you HOF worthy.

 

I think Moorer is simultaneously a little overrated at HW (aside from a win over Holyfield, his HW win resume isn't HoF worthy) & a little underrated p4p. He'd have been a brilliant 190lbs CW, imo.

I feel similar about Chris Byrd.

All that said, as @JohnThomas1 alludes to, it's the Hall of Fame, not Hall of Accomplishments, so being the guy that lost to 45-year old George Foreman to regain the HW title c.2-decades after he lost it to Ali, it does seem a little strange he's not in it. Do a higher % of "people on the street" know who Arturo Gatti is, than who Michael Moorer is?

 

I think hes overrated at Light Heavyweight aswell his best win was Leslie Stewart who was ahead on points until Moorer caught up to him late on.

That's not really the sign of a monster Light Heavyweight which people like to brand him as.

 

His resume at LHW is nothing of note in an ATG context, but when I watch the Moorer who had just moved up to HW fight, I think he'd have made a formidable 190lbs CW.

 

Moorer vs Holyfield at Cruiserweight would've been interesting.

 

I said formidable, but did not mean that formidable (assuming best vs best) .

Pure conjecture on my part, of course, as we never saw MM @ CW, but I'd take Holyfield & Usyk, as the 2 x best guys to compete in the CW division, to beat MM there. But, thereafter, I can't think of too many guys that have competed at CW that I'd make a clear favourite over my imagined 190-200lbs incarnation of MM.

Haye is probably the closest, albeit an orthodox version, of what I imagine MM to be at CW, both in terms of style & how accomplished I'd imagine him to be. And Haye can be underrated, imo, particularly at CW, because he turned into prima donna towards the end of his career & because of how risk averse he was vs Wlad.

 

It is the hall of FAME, Gatti is more well known than Moorer. Rest his soul.

 

You've quoted a post, in which I specifically state "it's the Hall of Fame, not Hall of Acomplishments", and typed "its the Hall of FAME" in response. Thanks.

I'm not sure more non boxing fans know Gatti than the guy who, as popularised in the recent film, lost the most renowned title in all of sports, to the famous, grill selling, 45 year old Foreman c. 20 years after he lost it to the most recognisable athlete in history. That said, I'm not sure that you're wrong either.

 

I don't see why not to be honest.

Some pretty ordinary lineal heavyweight champions have got in.

Was Jimmy Braddock really so much better?

 

It was more a answer that Gatti is more famous than Moorer, and Forman being the king of the grill is more famous than both of em. More to do with the Ali fight and the grill. Gatti is known for the Ward wars from non boxing fans, and of course for Moorer it was getting ko by Foreman. Take it as you will in regard to how much credit being Famous should impact the HOF placement, but being famous is a large reason why Gatti and Foreman are in, and Moorer is still waiting.

 

Can see both sides of the argument but push comes to shove i would say yes

 

Moorer never saw it coming, he faded to black when Foreman hit him.

Did you ever notice the show always has Mosley-Molina playing in the background? They must have figured they would show an HBO fight on all these Bada Bing TVs. It’s always that fight.