Im split about him. He fought Hall of Famer Bobby Chacon almost to a stand still in 4 fights, beat Rolando Navarrete one out of two, fought Alexis Arguello gallantly for 11 rounds and was a two time world champion at a golden era for his division. He was the Marvin Johnson of the Junior Lightweights! But then there are all the losses.. What is your opinion of his case?
I'm a fan of his but too me, he falls short of what a hall of fame fighter is. He simply was way too inconsistent and didn't beat those upper level guys like Arguello and Camacho.
I like the Marvin Johnson comparison; it's pretty good. I don't think he was consistent enough either really. He really outdid Chacon in their four fights, with Chacon winning a dubious decision once and then the technical draw in the third fight should have been awarded to Limon as well, he seemed to be ahead. As noted, once he stepped up to fight the real greats he invariably fell short, and that's not a description one uses about a Hall of Famer.
Limon had A lot of losses early and late in his career. He did have a few good wins, like Rose, Navarette, and Baltazar, some thought he beat Chacon. But really he shouldn't be in the hall of fame. But neither should Arturo Gatti, and he is. So it can be a popularity contest opposed to merit.
The real question is why should be in the HOF ? He was an exciting fighter but only won 3 world title fights to my knowledge and lost over 20 times that's not really HOF worthy achievements. His two most exciting fights he lost to Chacon, Boza-Edwards, and lost to the other top tier fighters like Arguello, Camacho, Chavez, etc. I don't think hes HOF worthy.
I agree Gatti shouldn't be in the HOF but atleast hes two weight world champion and won x2 as many title fights as Limon did. Not to mention Gatti is atleast known for winning most of his exiciting well known fights where as Limon is known for losing his.
He was a very good fighter but did he really have enough of the kind of wins needed to be in the HOF ?
He didn't do enough. Lost his title in his first defense. Won it back then lost it in his second defense. So only one successful defense. Great heart and chin though
