IBHOF New Inductees - Eclectic Mix

D. Bergin · #1 12-08-2010, 07:50 AM

I'm a bit surprised Kostya Tszyu got in on his 1st ballot. A fine fighter when he was on, but he was fairly inactive during the last 5 years of his career.

His career defining fight was against Zab Judah nearly 10 years ago.........a fighter who until this very day is STILL trying to realize his potential.

Most of the big names on his resume were well past it and coming up in weight when he fought them. Not to be harsh, but the Chavez win is meaningless.

I've got no problem with Dave Shade. Never won a title, but he fought and Beat or Drew with many Champions and other HOF'ers, and was a very prolific fighter, even for his time.

Gave a prime Mickey Walker hell, for three fights.

Exhibitman · #2 12-08-2010, 05:09 PM

Murr, is it mandatory to elect from each category each time or can the voters give it a pass if no one strikes their fancy?

The three moderns were good choices; JCC was the easiest choice of the three IMO since he fully realized his potential and had no nasty moral issues to consider. Tyson will always be the "what if" guy but IMO was for a few years there as lethal a heavyweight as the world has ever seen. Tszyu certainly has enough cred to merit induction, though I too wondered whether he'd make it on the 1st shot.

I had no problem with Shade, either, for the reasons Dave stated. The title thing is kinda nonsensical when it comes to prewar fighters--so few divisions, so many "KO or no title" fights. You just can't compare a career waged under conditions like that to one now, with 80+ potential belts out there at any time. Seems like you can pull a title belt out of a cereal box nowadays.

Gully definitely has a resume thinner than piss on a rock; don't see that one.

Stallone. Now that is an interesting question. I suppose you could say that most regular non-fan types out there know what little they know about boxing from Rocky and he did win the Boxing Writers Association of America award for �Lifetime Cinematic Achievement in Boxing� in 2006, so I don't think this as out of the blue as it may have seemed. On the other hand, it is kind of like awarding a wine competition to grape juice.

Regardless of the motives, next year is gonna be a fun weekend. I might even have to drag my lazy butt from CA to Canastota for that one!

Writehooks · #3 12-08-2010, 07:31 PM

Alan, Adam & Dave –
Good observations, guys. I have no qualms about Shade's induction; in fact, his 124-23-46 record is similar to that of another guy who I think deserves to be in the Hall, even though he never won a world title: Tiger Jack Fox. The Spokane slugger was 152-23-12 overall and 5-3-1 against world champions and HoFers, including a pair of wins over Jersey Joe Walcott.
Can't say the same about Gully, though. I chalk up his inclusion to the same kind of sentimental support that put Barry McGuigan in the Hall a few years back.
To answer your question, Adam, voters can indeed pass if nobody strikes their fancy, and nominees who fall short of the required percentage can be recycled the following year. BWAA members are asked to mark up to 10 names on the "modern category" ballot (usually from a list of about 50), but only the top three make it.

Murr

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