I don’t think so, since Firpo was always very outspoken and hated by boxing politicians and writers alike both during his career and even long after his career was over. The writers association in New York that picks candidates for the IBHOF themselves over the years haven’t had good things to say about Firpo. In some ways Firpo was more hated than Carnera, who to my knowledge also isn’t in the IBHOF.
Interesting points. Do you believe for the same reasons Carnera isn't inducted? Do you think he should be?
Unfortunately yes. Carnera is largely hated by many of the most prominent writers in New York. For decades they spread a lot of false rumors about Carnera’s career and personal life, which unfortunately a lot of fans take as the gospel truth. I definitely think Carnera belongs in the Hall of Fame considering he was willing to fight anybody, beat plenty of excellent fighters, and generated a lot of money in his industry. Plenty of fighters that achieved much less in their careers are in the IBHOF, so I take the IBHOF with a grain of salt.
Wikipedia states loads of streets etc in latin America have been named after him, but there's no source? Do you know if there's any truth to that?
He is an absolutely huge figure in his home country. Even so, he was never anything more, than a very good contender.
He deserves to be in. His fame and influence in Latin American boxing and his exploits in a "Golden Age" of U.S. boxing ..... are absolutely epic. FFS, they have Frank Warren, Colin Hart and Michael Buffer in their crappy Hall of Fame ..... they have Leroy Neiman and Sylvester Stallone in their crappy hall of fame ...... and people want to argue the toss whether LUIS FIRPO should be in !
That would be the icing on the cake as far as making the IBHOF even more irrelevant to the history of boxing than it already is.
Close question. At least Carnera has some credentials. I'm biased because I am sympathetic to Primo's narrative. Given many of the people who have been inducted into the Canastota HOF, Primo more than qualifies. The IBHOF induction ceremonies are mostly promotional gimmicks to draw fans to Canastota. In my own view of a perfect world, a HOF should be for boxers only. I think there should be a version of the HOF similar to the one created by Nat Fleischer's Ring Magazine. The best thing about Canastota is that it furnishes an annual event where boxing fans can gather. If I look at Canastota from that perspective, it helps to keep me from getting too hot and bothered about its open-ended selection format. Still, I think it would be great if there was a totally different, merit-based HOF along the lines of what Ring Magazine used to do. If it was thought to be absolutely necessary, non-boxers could be recognized as "auxiliary" supporters of the sport, but not as true Hall-of-Famers. In my world, this category would be limited to trainers, managers, and promoters. No broadcasters, writers, etc. They should have their own HOFs.
When they build a wing for fabricated hype jobs, he will be the first induction. No, doesn't come close to qualifying as a boxer. Gerry Cooney has much stronger case.
