Which of these retired British boxers most deserves a place in the IBHOF?

Putting the whole thing in some perspective, how many wins over current (or likely future) Hall of Famers does the list have?

Honeyghan - Curry (probable at some point, has been on the ballot for a while)
McCullough - None
Haye - None
Benn - Barkley is a longshot on the basis of being a 3 division champ.
Conteh - None
Eubank - None (leaving Benn out of the equation)
Hamed - Possibly Vazquez (as deserving as Zaragoza).
Bruno - .......
Hatton - Tszyu. Probably Castillo.
Watt - None.


"To be a great you have to beat a great" is a crude measure and doesn't hold true in all cases. However, the majority of fighters in the IBHOF have at least one victory over a fellow inductee, and those that don't tend to be fighters like Canto and Lopez who were exceptionally dominant over a long period. The IBHOF criteria is looser than it probably should be, but it isn't quite the free-for-all that some people seem to think it is.

 

"The only fighters I watched more than two or three times when I was coming up were Thomas Hearns, Pernell Whitaker and Mike Tyson. Their abilities were so superior to everything else in boxing. Thomas Hearns threw breathtaking straight punches, Pernell was poetry in motion, and Tyson was awe-strikingly ferocious."
-Eubank

 

Eubank
Benn
Haye
Hamed
Hatton

to be fair though I don't know enough about some of the other ones to comment one way or another.

 

"I most probably wouldn't have beaten Herol Graham, Michael Nunn or Roy Jones on points."
-Eubank

 

Conteh deserves it most along with Benn Calzaghe in no way makes my list ever, guy was scared of his own shadow

 

A 100% fit & focused Don Curry would have smashed Honeyghan

 

Why is Joe Calzaghe not on the list?

 

Honeyghan

Benn

Hatton

 

Calzaghe and Lewis deserve the most.

 

"If you're world champion and you've secured your finances, one should always aim to undispute the championship and unite all the titles. Like I tried to do against Michael Nunn, James Toney and Roy Jones - the best fighters out there, pound-for-pound.

"You've got to aim for the stars in boxing or you'll stall, you'll go stale. The great champion Joe Calzaghe, for instance, wasn't blessed with the greatest charisma, and yet he didn't pursue glorious ambition, either, until very late on; and when he did, that's when his career picked up dramatically.

"If you're not a natural entertainer, then you must pursue the glorious ambition. You just must. There's no other way of making a living in boxing along with the recognition and star appeal. And if you're not good enough to win, that's just hard cheese, isn't it?"
-Eubank

 

All are borderline, at best - but if I had to go with one, I'd probably say Conteh.

 

Great post. By the standards that are around, Hamed and Hatton are probably the closest. Benn and Eubank both have decent cases, but were on that round robin with guys like Kalambay, Collins and Nunn (none of whom are in and each of whom is about as deserving as Benn), plus they just didn't fight most of the best fighters in their weight classes in their eras.

Personally, I think Hamed is the most deserving of these guys by a long shot. The quality of fighters he beat is just much higher than that of Benn or Eubank overall. Hatton will also be a tough one when he's eligible. Super popular, a couple very good wins, a few solid ones, a long run as the top fighter in his weight class. I suspect he too gets in eventually, but not right away. Watt maybe gets in as a contributor someday, but certainly not as a fighter. The rest of them only get to Canastota by buying a ticket.

 

Nigel Benn is far more deserving than Kalambay, Collins or Nunn.

 

Benn, Eubank and Naz should all be in there.

 

Personally I think Kalambay is more deserving than Benn. First man to beat Graham (and did it twice), beat a near-prime McCallum, as well as Barkley, Collins and plenty of decent fighters. If it wasn't for the Nunn blowout, I think he'd be seen in a more flattering light.

Nunn didn't have Benn's longevity, but at his best was a better fighter, and beat plenty of good names before a combination of bad habits and a hail-mary from Toney caught up with him.

With Collins I guess the eternal question is how he would have done against a prime Eubank and Benn. As it was, he clearly beat the faded versions, but his prime defeats to McCallum, Johnson and Kalambay will always be held against him when assessing his legacy.