Name fighters who are in Hof but shouldn't be

Nino Valdes fought up close. He wasn’t nearly as good though.

(He was a big man relative to comp.)

 

Ooo pal you may have to put your tin hat on!

 

Cold blooded...lol!

 

I agree. I think he gets a lot of credit for fighting Evander, who was so much smaller than him.

 

They should have a category which explains Gatti, because he did inspire the sport with his fights, but his skill level was not hall of fame standard. And someone was not let in because he was inducted. Someone like Donald Curry, who probably deserves it. Even Iran Barkley in someway more than Gatti, since he beat Hearns and won 3 titles. although 2 of those were from Hearns who seemed to have a bad style matchup with Iran, considering Barkley lost to Kalambay,Duran,Nunn,Benn in the same 2 1/2 or 3 year period. But still. he fought them all.

 

Bobo Olsen

 

Like everybody else the HOF has to make money to survive. I'm sure a lot more people go to see Gatti's plaque and spend money than they do for a lot of other fighters. It doesn't bother me one way or the other. He was a very famous fighter in his day and it is call The Hall of FAME. I think he is borderline but I can live with it. Now Stallone????

 

The free pass given to lineal heavyweight champions is probably the worst indulgence, even more so than Gatti. The criteria for inclusion is supposed to be achievements only, so it should in theory be more objective than it is in practice. Most of the voters seem to ignore the actual criteria whenever they feel like it.

With any commercial entity, there has to be one eye on the bottom line though, so it’s understandable that a few questionable inductees are squeezed in.

I’m not that bothered about (eg) Gatti being there, providing it isn’t used as an excuse to lower standards and make it a free for all. If Angel Manfredy gets the call on the basis of being as good as Gatti, it’s gone wrong somewhere. If Gatti is an anomaly and we all understand and respect the reasons for him being there, it’s not an issue imo.

 

Boxing is a unique sport. A guy like Ron Lyle can pick up the sport at 28, turn pro at 30 years old and become a top ranked contender. No one is going to pick up basketball or football at 28 and be a starting player, much less a super star in the NBA or NFL, unless they are super humanly talented. Boxing is a sport where you have a better chance with a late start.

 

I can't really get too worked up about who should or shouldn't be in the Hall. Whether or not Jose Torres or Ken Norton or Arturo Gatti has a plaque with their name on it in some building somewhere just isn't anything I'm gonna lose any sleep over.

 

Yeah, same.

That said, there are some guys, like say, Ernesto Marcel, that probably warrant inclusion as much or more than those guys mentioned.

 

Oh, absolutely; lots of guys overlooked there.

 

I stepped into it.

 

Stallone easily deserves it IMO.

How many people took up boxing, or even just got into watching them thanks to Rocky? Plus helping get Johnson pardoned

 

A lot of the pioneers are only there because they have stories worth remembering. From what I’ve seen of John C. Heenan, his record is 0-2-1. One draw in three recorded fights. He established a reputation fighting in the mills and was most likely a tough man. But we know nothing of those early encounters, and what people knew of him was most likely from word-of-mouth. (His reputation likely exceeded his ring-prowess).

But he is part of one of the most sensational sports stories of the nineteenth century. In 1860 he traveled to England and battled Tom Sayers in the first fight between a British Champion and an American challenger. It was the Ali/Frazier of its day.