What must a boxer achieve in order to be considered into the Hall Of Fame? For me (my opinion) it means either the way you: 1- Dominate fighters (Notice I said fighters, not fighter) 2- Dominate a weight division or multiple weight divisions 3- And last but not least, GUTS. Let's take Shane Mosley and Vernon Forrest for example. For Shane, one can argue that his record isn't as top notch comparighted to other boxers. His only major win/wins are Oscar De La Hoya and Antonio Margarito. Does that alone put him in the hall of fame? No. He also dominated the lower divisions and the WAY he did it is what makes it special, by knocking pretty much everyone out. But what really makes him hall of fame worthy is his GUTS. He fought anyone at any weight division (Vernon, Winky) and although he lost, but not by much, he showed heart and balls, never backed out on a challenge. Mosley had all these three critierias that I listed above. Now let's talk about Vernon Forrest (RIP). The guy was an amazing welter weight no doubt about that one. His rise to shine was when he defeated the mighty Shane not once, but twice, and being the first person in doing so. It's an amazing feat, but sadly he did not do nothing else besides that to be considered into the hall of fame. I know some will argue that he is, but if you think he is, then you must also consider Mayorga hall of fame worthy as well. Don't you think? My point is, people have the tendancy to name fighters hall of fame worthy left and right. Ok you may all discuss now!!
Would I be considered into the hall of fame if I had a record of 2-0 and knocked Tyson out in his prime, then retire immediatly?
I agree with you 100%, but when a fighter dominates a certain division I really like to see him jump to the next one and take on new challenge. I would liked to have seen Hagler do that.
Yeah man. Fighters like Tarver is another boxer who people think should be in the hall of fame. Unbelievable.
What does it mean to me? It's a basically American thing for famous people, probably something to do with a kind of cult of celebrity. Other countries do different things. In Denmark Mikkel Kessler might get the 'Order of the Dannebrog' (if he doesn't have it already). To get in I guess you need to be popular enough for people to vote you in. I've just discovered there are two boxing Halls of Fame, so I guess if you don't get into one maybe they'll let you into the other. You probably need to be a world champion at least. I'm not sure guts has anything to do with it unless you're also a world champion. It's not a Hall of Balls, it's a Hall of Fame. If you put people famous for having balls in there you should include almost all boxers. On reflection they should call it a Hall of Champions and that would cut out the uncertainty. Therefore if you're a world champion you're in.
Trinidad had guts, Oscar did, just to name a few. But they were SOLID world champions also. Guts alone wouldn't get you no where, but I was refering to having all of the critierias I mentioned, not just one.
First, there is a big difference between Hall of Fame worthy, and All Time Great. The guy in my avatar is the very definition of who belongs in the International Boxing Hall of fame. When Danny hit people with a right hand, they went down like ya shot 'em in the head. Ruled the division for nearly four years. NEVER backed away from a challenge. Five or six rounds with Little Red usually seperated the contenders from the pretenders rather obviously. Beat people he was suppose to lose to. Said to be ruined after the Chacon beating, but won the WBC title shortly there after. Hugely popular champion who put asses in seats. Put it this way, back when Arturo "Thunder" Gatti was still in diapers, Danny "Little Red" Lopez was puttin' asses in seats and givin' people there monies worth! I definine the term "All Time Great" by using names like Ray Robinson, Alexis Arguello, Mohammed Ali, Tommy Hearns, et. It's something that we should only apply to a few very special fighters.
People who had a real impact on the sport should be in the Hall of Fame. I'm not overly selective in terms of achievements when it comes to that. Arturo Gatti should be in there based on what he means to boxing fans and the amount of incredible fights he's put on for fans, etc.. Gatti is not an All-Time Great, but that's never been criteria for the Hall of Fame. It's obviously all very subjective, so I'm typically not crazy about who gets in and who doesn't.