IBHOF Class of 2025 Announced
Last week the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) officially announced this year’s class of inductees.
Manny Pacquiao, Michael Nunn, and Vinny Paz were inducted into the men's modern category, while Yessica Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis, and Mary Jo Sanders were inducted into the women's modern category.
In the Non-Participant category, inductees include referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous), and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous). In the Observer category, broadcaster/journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg were selected. The remaining inductees include Rodrigo Valdes (posthumous) in the men's Old-Timer category, Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category, and Cathy "Cat" Davis in the women's Trailblazer category.
As I wrote in my previous article for the class of 2025, Pacquiao was a shoo-in and he rightfully gets the first-ballot distinction. His career was incredible and I am so grateful that I got to witness it as it happened. You can read more about how my fandom coincided with Pacquiao’s peak run here.
Here is a breakdown of the other two inductees:
Michael “Second To” Nunn
Career: 1984-2002
Record: 58-4 (38 KO)
Title defenses: 5 (middleweight), 4 (super-middleweight)
Record in title fights: 11-4
Key wins: Frank Tate, Juan Roldan, Sumbu Kalambay, Iran Barkley, Marlon Starling, Donald Curry, and Merqui Sosa.
Key losses: James Toney, Steve Little, Frankie Liles, and Graciano Rocchigiani.
Even though I didn't vote for Nunn, I gave him a second look, so I understand voters picking him. He had a good run at middleweight, including his devastating first-round knockout of Kalambay (video below), the only stoppage defeat Kalambay suffered in his 64-fight career. Kalambay deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and it's a travesty he isn't even on the ballot, so Nunn's victory over him deserves much credit. Besides the win over Kalambay, Nunn beat Marlon Starling and fellow HOFer Donald Curry. But both of them were former welterweight champions fighting well above their natural weight, and also past their best when Nunn got to them.
Although Nunn lost his middleweight title by devastating stoppage to James Toney, he rebounded nicely to claim a belt at super-middleweight, which he defended four times, albeit against weaker opposition. Across both of his title reigns, he amassed a total of nine defenses. Seven of those challengers (78%) were ranked in The Ring top ten, one of the highest percentages among fighters on the ballot.
Nunn fought his last fight in January 2002 and that summer, he was arrested for buying cocaine from an undercover cop. In 2004, Nunn was sentenced to 24 years in prison for drug trafficking and he was released in 2019. With that ordeal behind him, Nunn was ecstatic to receive the news about his induction and I can only imagine how great it will feel for him to join the Hall this June.
"Thank God. I've been waiting on this moment for so long. God has truly blessed me," said Nunn in the IBHOF press release. "I want to thank the International Boxing Hall of Fame and all the voters. This is the highest achievement a boxer can have in the sport. As a small-town guy from Iowa to reach the highest achievement in boxing makes me proud. This is the crowning moment of my career."
Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Paz
Career: 1983-2004
Record: 50-10 (30 KO)
Title defenses: 0
Record in title fights: 2-6
Key wins: Greg Haugen x 2, Lloyd Honeyghan, and Roberto Duran x 2.
Key losses: Haugen, Roger Mayweather, Hector Camacho, Roy Jones, Herol Graham, Aaron Davis, and Eric Lucas.
This is a baffling selection to me. The only reason I could think of as to why people voted for Paz is because he had a fan-friendly style, fought the best of his era, and he has an inspiring story. A month after Paz won the junior-middleweight belt in 1991, his second divisional title, he was a passenger in a head-on car collision, in which he fractured two vertebrae in his neck. Doctors told him he would never walk again and certainly never fight again, but he returned to the ring a year later and would continue to fight for more than a decade. His life was given the big-screen treatment in the movie Bleed for This (2016), where he was played by Miles Teller.
Even though Paz's boxing story demonstrates remarkable courage, the stats should carry more weight and his don't merit induction. He went 2-6 in title fights and lost most of the big fights he participated in. On top of that, he never successfully defended either his lightweight or junior middleweight titles. The only truly notable wins he scored were two over Haugen, who is far from a Hall-of-Famer. Not much stock can be put into his wins over Honeyghan or Duran because both were well past their primes.
I feel that inducting a guy like Paz lowers the standard for induction. It waters down the definition of what it means to be considered the best of the best, which is what a Hall of Fame is supposed to represent. It's not a popularity contest and there are many other names on the ballot who accomplished more than Paz.
Regardless, I am happy that Pacquiao and Nunn will be immortalized in Canastota this June. I am sure it will be one of the highlights of their lives and they deserve to feel on top of the world when they stand on the podium because there is no higher honour in the sport.
For more details on all the other inductees, please check out the IBHOF website, where you can learn about their careers and accomplishments.