5 Boxers That Should Be Inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame
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By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez
The 2018 International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) took place last weekend and my hats off to the new inductees. My last article on the IBHOF caused some reactions. It was regarding 5 boxers that should have not been inducted in the IBHOF in my view. Overall I received positive reviews but I did receive other reviews just disagreeing with my opinion. To be honest, it was not my favorite article as I don’t like to discredit any boxer, but it was just my opinion. This time I’m reversing things and looking into fighters I believe that should have been inducted in the IBHOF already.
I think most fight fans will agree with my picks, but I’m sure others won’t either. In this instance I’m focusing on boxers that have appeared in the ballots already, but as of yet have not been inducted. This will pertain to the modern category only.
1. Wilfredo Vazquez, SR., 56-9-2, 41 KO’s: Vazquez is one of the most underrated fighters from Puerto Rico. His professional career lasted for 21 years from 1981-2002. Vazquez won titles in three different weight classes: Bantamweight, Junior Featherweight, and Featherweight. He defeated Chan Young Park for the WBA World Bantamweight title in 1987. He only made one defense of his title and lost to Khaokor Galaxy. Vazquez suffered two more losses afterwards, but was not counted out just yet. He had his most success when he moved up to Junior Featherweight division. He avenged an early loss and beat Raul Perez for the WBA World Junior Featherweight title in 1992. Vazquez made an impressive nine title defenses in a three year span. They included wins against former world champions such as: Thierry Jacob (twice), Luis Mendoza, and hall of fame great Orlando Canizales. His title reign came to a stop when he lost to Antonio Cermeno. Vazquez then moved up in weight and won the WBA World Featherweight title in 1996 with an explosive knockout over Eloy Rojas. This was another impressive victory as Rojas himself was on a winning streak and already made six title defenses of the title. Vazquez made four defenses of the Featherweight belt before losing to Prince Naseem Hamed in 1998. For world title fights, Vazquez fought in seven different countries and fought in championship fights for 10 years. Maybe he is not on top of the list such as other greats from the island like Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfredo Benitez, and Felix Trinidad, but he should be recognized. Vazquez has a record of 16-4-1 in world title fights.
2. Dariusz Michalczewski, 48-2, 38 KO’s: When we talk about fighters who had the most consecutive title defenses, a few come to mind. Joe Louis (25 defenses) is the most obvious one. Also we have Bernard Hopkins (20 defenses), Ricardo Lopez (22 defenses), Larry Holmes (20 defenses), and Joe Calzaghe (21 defenses). Michalczewski should be recognized as well along with those top fighters. He was a Polish born fighter that defected to Germany. He had an outstanding amateur record of 133-15-2 and made a splash in the professional ranks. He won the titles in two different weight classes: Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight. He won the WBO World Light Heavyweight title against Leeonzer Barber in 1994. For his next fight, Michalczewski then moved up to the Cruiserweight division and stopped Nestor Hipolito Giovannini for the WBO belt, but then decided to move back down to Light Heavyweight. From there, he made 23 title defenses of the WBO Light Heavyweight belt in a nine year span from 1994-2003. During his title reign, he beat former champions such as Virgil Hill, Montel Griffin, Graciano Rocchigiani (twice), and Leeonzer Barber. He finally lost his title in 2003 against Julio Cesar Gonzalez. He would have one more fight in 2005 and lost against Farice Tiozzo. The one big fight that didn’t happen for Michalczewski was a fight against Roy Jones Jr. Both fighters were on top of that division during the 90’s but a deal could never be made for them to fight. Even though Michalczewski made all his title defenses in Germany, you have to give him credit for his many title defenses and longevity in the sport. Michalcezwski has a record of 25-2 in world title fights.
3. Gilberto Roman, 54-6-1, 35 KO’s: Mexican greats Daniel Zaragoza, Ricardo Lopez, and Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez have been inducted in the hall of fame already. They were all trained by the hall of famer trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain. The Marquez brothers (Rafael and Juan Manuel), also trained by Beristain, will make it to the hall one day as well. Gilberto Roman from the 80’s was another fighter trained by Nacho Beristain and is considered one the greatest Super Flyweight champions of all time. Just like Beristain’s other fighters, Roman was a technician in the ring but more similar to a Miguel Canto. What is great about Roman is that his career only lasted for nine years, but he had many accomplishments. His big break came in 1986 when he defeated one of Japan’s greatest fighters, Jiro Watanbe to win the WBC World Super Flyweight title. Watanbe himself was on a 16 fight winning streak with 12 of the fights being world championship fights before losing to Roman. Roman then made six more title defenses of the title and then suffered a loss on cuts to Argentina’s Santos Laciar in a rematch in 1987. Roman then gained the WBC title back by beating Sugar Baby Rojas. Roman ended up making another 5 title defenses of the title before losing to Nana Yaw Konadu. Roman was 12-3-1 in world title fights and beat former champions such as Jiro Watanbe, Sugar Baby Rojas (twice), Santos Laciar, and Kiyoshi Hatanaka. Also Roman defended his title in six different countries which shows what a real world champion is. However Roman’s career ended short on June 27, 1990 when he died in an auto accident. Roman has a record of 12-3-1 in world title fights.
4. Chris Eubank, SR., 45-5-2, 23 KO’s: Now we head towards the Middleweight and Super Middleweight divisions. Before British fighters like Joe Calzaghe and Carl Froch were making a splash in those divisions, Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn were doing it first. Both Eubank and Benn will always be linked together due to their rivalry. They brought excitement in British boxing in the 90’s. We will get to Benn shortly, but let’s start with Eubank first. Chris Eubank was undefeated for ten years and during those ten years, he was world champion for four years. He won the WBO World Middleweight title by stopping fearsome knockout artist Nigel Benn in nine rounds. Eubank then made three more defenses of his title and then decided to move up to the Super Middleweight division. He would win the vacant WBO World Super Middleweight title by stopping fellow Brit Michael Watson in a rematch. Going forward, Eubank made an impressive 14 title defenses of his title before losing it in 1995 to Steve Collins. Eubank has a record of 17-5-2 in world title fights and defeated former world champions such as Nigel Benn, Thulani Malinga and Graciano Rocchigiani. As his nickname states, he was “Simply the Best” during his time.
5. Nigel Benn, 42-5-1, 35 KO’s: Of course if I think Chris Eubank is worthy of induction, then you have to include the Dark Destroyer as well. This is another fighter that made huge accomplishments in a short time frame. Benn boxed professionally only for 9 years and was considered one of the most feared punchers in the game. His aggressive style and big punching power made exciting fights. At the start of his career he stopped his first 22 opponents. He first won the WBO World Middleweight Championship by stopping Doug DeWitt in 7 rounds and then he made his 1st defense by stopping Iran Barkley in the 1st round. However, as mentioned earlier, he title reign was short lived as he was stopped by Chris Eubank. Benn then moved up the Super Middleweight division and stopped Mauro Galvano for the WBC title. He successfully defended the title nine times before losing to Thulani Malinga. Benn has a record of 7-4-1 in world title fights and defeated former world champions such as Iran Barkley, Doug DeWitt, Mauro Galvano (twice), and Gerald McClellan. It would be ideal if both Benn and Eubank were to be inducted in the hall of fame at the same time.
These are just five fighters I selected off the top of my head. A few others such as: Henry Maske, Miguel “Happy” Lora, Ivan Calderon, Michael Moorer, Sven Ottke, and Gianfranco Rosi should be inducted as well. Given that only three fighters are inducted in the modern category each year, a lot of these fighters I mentioned, won’t be inducted anytime soon. I say this because in the upcoming years, we look forward to new eligible fighters hitting the ballots. Retired boxers like Roy Jones, JR., Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, Andre Ward, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather, JR., Miguel Cotto, and Wladimir Klitschko are sure locks in the hall of fame for the first time when they hit the ballots.
So what do you think? Do you agree with my picks?
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