Men's class of IBHOF 2024 announced

I gave a fair assessment. You’re the one pretending guys were ranked. Worst heavyweight since Burns in ibhof. That’s fair, right?

 

I don't agree. I think he beats a lot if heavyweights that in the hall. I'd take him over Ingo, Patterson, Walcott, Tunney, Johnson, Sullivan. Not from a historical importance but head to head. There simply wasn't southpaw heavyweights in most era's and that combined with his power and excellent right hand jab would be a problem for a lot of guys.

Maybe I overate him more than others because I remember hearing about him when I was a teenager and he was a top American amateur that was just destroying guys. To see him dominate as an amateur in lower weight classes and move up to beat Holyfield was impressive for a Midwest guy like me.

 

We aren’t talking about h2h here. A prime Luis Ortiz would wipe his ass w most of the heavyweight class, particularly pre-modern, but he’s never going to see a ballot.

For resume, worst since Burns?

 

For resume, worst since Burns? No! He beat Evander Holyfield who had only lost to a prime Bowe at that point. I happen to rate Evander Holyfield as a top ten heavyweight all time. That win alone and the fact that he was a two time heavyweight champ with a win over Axel Schulz who really should have got the decision against Foreman is better than a lot of resumes.

We can debate this all day but my intention with this thread was to celebrate the folks that got in. Whether you like them or not, all four were warriors and deserving of respect.

 

So what heavyweight since Burns in IBHOF had a worse resume? I don’t think Primo made it. Maybe him, if he did.

 

IMO Ingo for sure. I think highly of Patterson but outside of Patterson, Machen and Cooper there isn't much there. When I evaluate fighters, I can't help but think head to head above resume. It's simply what makes sense to me as a former amateur fighter.

 

I put Ingo ahead. Holyfield had too many health questions when he lost. And Ingo also showed his worth when he almost murdered Machen.

 

Fair enough. I don't buy Holyfield's health excuses though. I think he focused on lifting too much and PEDs for the Moorer fight and was sluggish. If he truly had a heart condition he wouldn't have come back to beat Tyson twice and push Lennox Lewis to the brink. The heart stuff was all bull****. As for Ingo showing his worth against Machen, I think Moorer smashing Machen as well as Cooper and even Ingo.

 

Holyfiled came fairly close to dying after the Moorer fight. He had pulmonary edema and multiple organ failure if I remember right. It's true that the issue resolved, but that must have been his worst form until the 2000s and he proved it in the rematch.

Ingo was basically the Riddick Bowe of Patterson's era. He was very popular and ko'd the champ and shared a classic trilogy, almost winning the third one too.

Again, I don't care about h2h comparisons if it's for different eras. I don't believe that anyone from Ingo's era at heavyweight would have similar success from the 70s onward.

 

How bout Firpo from the old timers: had Dempsey through the ropes