Earlier this week, the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) officially announced this year’s class of inductees.
In the men’s Modern category, Ivan Calderon, Diego Corrales, Ricky Hatton, and Michael Moorer were inducted, while Jane Couch and Ana Maria Torres were chosen in the women’s Modern category.
In the Non-Participant category, inductees include trainer Kenny Adams, manager Jackie Kallen, and publicist Fred Sternburg. In the Observer category, journalist Wallace Matthews and broadcaster Nick Charles (posthumous) were selected. Lastly, Luis Angel Firpo (posthumous) was inducted in the men’s Old-Timer category, while Theresa Kibby was chosen in the women’s Trailblazer category.
I want to congratulate all of this year’s inductees on an incredible accomplishment. I know that the IBHOF is far from perfect but it is the best boxing hall of fame that exists and it does an excellent job of paying tribute to the sport’s legends. To be enshrined is the highest honor in boxing and this year’s inductees should be immensely proud of themselves for reaching the pinnacle of their profession.
I will focus on the men’s Modern inductees because that is the category I get to vote in and of which I am most knowledgeable as a result of my research. Four inductees were selected because they all received 80% of the vote. Of those four, I voted for one of them, Ivan Calderon. For a more detailed breakdown of why I picked him, check out my previous post here.
Here is my breakdown of the other inductees:
Diego Corrales
Career: 1996-2007
Record: 40-5 (33 KO)
Title defenses: 4 (junior lightweight), 1 (lightweight)
Record in title fights: 7-2
Key wins: Robert Garcia, Derrick Gainer, Angel Manfredy, Joel Casamayor, Acelino Freitas, Jose Luis Castillo
Key losses: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Joel Casamayor x 2, Jose Luis Castillo
The reason I didn’t vote for Corrales is because he wasn’t dominant enough over the competitors of his era. He beat a number of solid contenders, but he also lost several big fights. I must say that his win over Freitas was particularly impressive, and I wrote about for The Fight City. His resume is very similar to Casamayor’s so I don’t see how one could get in over the other, but maybe his advantage came from being the winner of one of the greatest fights in boxing history. If you haven’t seen that fight, check it out below:
It must also be said that after losing to Mayweather in 2001, Corrales served 14 months in prison for domestic violence against his then-pregnant ex-wife. He returned to boxing in 2003 and fought until 2007. Sadly, he died in a crash while driving his motorcycle drunk on May 7, 2007 , exactly two years after his first epic clash with Castillo. Toxicology reports showed that his blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit in Nevada. Suffice it to say that Corrales had his demons, but he was still an accomplished fighter who achieved remarkable things in the sport.
Ricky Hatton
Career: 1997-2012
Record: 45-3 (32 KO)
Title Defenses: 5 (junior welterweight)
Record in title fights: 7-3
Key wins: Kostya Tszyu, Luis Collazo, Jose Luis Castillo, Paulie Malignaggi
Key losses: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao
While he was a very popular fighter in his native England, Hatton’s resume is thin for a HOFer. Although he built up his record in his home country to 38-0 before getting a title shot, he didn’t beat any truly top contenders. But to his credit, Hatton did capitalize on the title-fight opportunity, beating up fellow HOFer Kostya Tszyu in his career-best performance. That fight is worth a watch below:
After beating Tszyu, he scored wins over Carlos Maussa, Luis Collazo, Juan Urango, and Jose Luis Castillo, all good wins but only Castillo was world-class. Then the undefeated Hatton faced Mayweather in the biggest fight of his career and he was thoroughly outclassed before getting stopped in the tenth. He rebounded with wins over Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi before suffering another resounding defeat at the hands of Manny Pacquiao. After taking three years out of the ring, Hatton returned for an ill-advised fight with Vyacheslav Senchenko, who stopped him in nine.
Hatton was extremely popular and for good reason; He was a humble, working-class, action fighter who made the most of his skills. Even though he was one-dimensional, he was very effective in that dimension due to his tenacity and relentless aggression. Those traits meant that he was seldom in boring fights and always gave fans their money’s worth.
Michael Moorer
Career: 1988-2008
Record: 52-4-1 (40 KO)
Title defenses: 9 (light-heavyweight), 2 (heavyweight)
Record in title fights: 15-2
Key wins: Leslie Stewart, Bert Cooper, Evander Holyfield, Axel Schulz, Francois Botha, Vasiliy Jirov
Key losses: George Foreman, Holyfield, David Tua
Moorer rose to prominence as a member of the Kronk gym, winning the WBO light-heavyweight title in his first year as a pro by stopping Ramzi Hassan. That was his 12th victory that year, all by stoppage. He would defend that title nine times in two years, but the only notable name on that list was former champion Leslie Stewart.
Moorer then moved up to heavyweight and won the WBO title in a barnburner against Bert Cooper, which is another must-watch fight that you can find below:
But his heavyweight campaign was far less dominant as he never defended the WBO belt and even though he won five fights after beating Cooper, only James "Bonecrusher" Smith was a recognizable name. Although he did score a big win against Holyfield to claim two belts in 1994, he lost them in his first defense to George Foreman in a monumental upset. He won another heavyweight strap a couple of years later and made two defenses but would then lose to Holyfield in their rematch in 1997. He would compete until 2008, which included 13 more wins, but only Jirov was a truly credible contender.
If I had to vote for one of the three aforementioned fighters to get inducted, I would pick Moorer because of his sustained dominance in one weight class, which the other candidates cannot boast. Although that light-heavyweight reign came against weaker opposition, it still carries weight. He also scored a few meaningful wins at heavyweight that deserve credit.
Unfortunately, I won’t be in Canastota this summer to commemorate this year’s class but I know they will enjoy their time in the sun because it’s always an amazing weekend of celebrations.
For more details on all the other inductees, please check out the IBHOF website, where you can learn about their careers and accomplishments.