Surely its not right that known cheats are inducted to the HOF? Kid Gavilan, Jake Lamotta to name just a couple, in what other sport would known cheats be in the HOF for their sport?
The HOF without Pep(suspected)? Etc? LaMotta was basically forced into doing it to get a title shot. Circumstances count. Besides, it's not a hall of squeaky clean fame, just fame.
no he took drugs....thats not cheating (roids is, i would say)....the handball...not the same as scoring an own goal to purposely lose a game
he cheated to win, he didnt cheat to lose, their is a difference...it wasnt premeditated for starters
Depends lets say a guy like holyfield who has agreat resume but is fighting out of debt, if he threw a fight vs a journeyman for big money woudl you not let him in the hof?
The sport of boxing was built on dodgy fights and suspicious activities so I think it would be unfair to plain exclude them from the list. If anything, even though taking a dive will temporarily reap financial rewards it would actually harm your legacy in the longterm. I consider PEDs or loading gloves as a different kind of cheating because you are directly trying to increase the profile of your reputation and legacy while putting your opponent at risk. You can add Jack Dempsey to the list of divers. Jack Johnson too if you believe his version of events where he took a dive against Jess Willard.
So by your rationale Margarito by cheating to win has more right to enter the hall of fame than say a Sonny Liston who fell to Clay in the 1st? The outcome doesnt matter , it is the action which is important.
There'd be a whole lot of old timers not able to fit then. Ike Williams himself said he threw a fight, and part of that was because the mafia had ordered him to do it, or else. Can you really blame him? We all know the mafia ruled boxing with an iron hand back then, and I dont think they'd take it lightly should he have decided not to do as they wished.
Tell that to American FOOTball players! :yep But I think they should certainly be allowed, because they only harmed their own legacy with it. They lost that fight, so it's not like they looked better because of it. And the problem is that so many boxers threw fights that none of us were actually sure about. Nowadays if there's a suspected fight it just gets laughed away by most if somebody calls it fixed.
no because margarito was premeditated and could have seriously damaged cotto...if he had taken a dive...thats different, cheating to lose and cheating to win are totaly different, unfortunately cheating to win usually causes more damage.
Those fighters who are inducted into the HOF, should be done so based on their achievements as boxers. I have no problem with the likes of Tyson etc, who despite their exploits outside the ring, were brilliant fighters who proved it once they put their gloves on. As for those who threw fights away, it's important to note, that they did so for outside-of-the-ring reasons (money, safety etc). These actions had no bearing on how they excelled inside the squared-circle. I can’t, however, say the same for the cheats who notoriously bent the rules to gain unfair advantages over their opponents (loading gloves, enhancement drugs etc).
