Is it fair if Virgil Hill gets voted into the HOF but not Michalczewski?

[crold1]

Yeah I thought I heard somewhere WBO wasn't a major belt until 2004.

That was when HBO started to recognize them. Ring never did. Others (ABC, Showtime) treated them as equal to anything else from early on. They were a major title depending on who had their belt.

[crold1]

So then DM was lineal champion at light heavyweight? And then Roy Jones became lineal when he beat Glen Kelly for the Ring title belt?

Roy didn't beat Kelly for the Ring belt. He got it the day they restarted giving out belts because, initially, anyone with BC/BF/BA got a Ring belt. However, if one recognizes the lineage starting at Hill/Maske (and they should), Roy was NEVER lineal champ.

The lineage ran through Erdei, who ultimately vacated. The lineage also wasn't worth much more than its footnote for years.

[Scott9945]

That was when HBO started to recognize them. Ring never did. Others (ABC, Showtime) treated them as equal to anything else from early on. They were a major title depending on who had their belt.

My memory is that Hamed put the WBO on the map. It was also enhanced by the Klitschko's holding their belt in the 1990's.

[crold1]

My memory is that Hamed put the WBO on the map. It was also enhanced by the Klitschko's holding their belt in the 1990's.

Bowe holding the WBO helped too. If HBO had shown guys like Benn and Eubank in the 90s, it would have gotten some looks earlier.

[The Hammer]

The WBO was a regional belt not a world title in 2001...europn\asian based regional belt like the NABF was in north america...2005 is when it started getting recognized. it was a stepping stone belt that gave you a top 5-10 ranking in the WBC. any north american fighter who won it vacated it to get a shot at a real world title....

You keep posting that over and over again to discredit European boxers, but it's not really true.

Ray Mercer defended it against Morrison. Tommy Morrison won it against Foreman, defended it against Tomacheck and lost it to Bentt. Riddick Bowe won it against Hide, and defended it against Gonzalez.

[Clegg]

Would be interested in seeing some more info on the claim that in 2001 any WBO champ was ranked in the top 5 of the WBC. I don't recall anything like that happening.

[Welsh Jon]

Although he's on the ballots again this year, Dariusz will very likely never be voted into the IBHOF even though he deserves it.

Even with the low standards set by the IBHOF he's only a border line contender.

[The Hammer]

Even with the low standards set by the IBHOF he's only a border line contender.

I think he's better than 'border line"...

- He has the most consecutive light heavyweight world title defenses in boxing history.

- He went 48-0

- Won world titles in two divisions

- Unified the light heavyweight titles, only to be unjustly stripped of two of them for no good reason

- unified by defeating Virgil Hill, who was admitted to the IBHOF last year

[Welsh Jon]

I think he's better than 'border line"...

- He has the most consecutive light heavyweight world title defenses in boxing history.

- He went 48-0

- Won world titles in two divisions

- Unified the light heavyweight titles, only to be unjustly stripped of two of them for no good reason

- unified by defeating Virgil Hill, who was admitted to the IBHOF last year

For all his title defences I don't think Darius is in the top 20 light heavies of all time.

Darius is about on the same level as Virgil Hill. But Hill was a borderline case too in my opinion.

Now that Hill is in he should go in too I guess.

Is Eddie Booker in yet? Now there's a guy unfairly over looked for years.

[Scott9945]

Is Eddie Booker in yet? Now there's a guy unfairly over looked for years.

He is on this years ballot, so no.