Gennadiy Golovkin, Nigel Benn and Antonio Tarver will be the headline 2026 inductees to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Golovkin, 42-2-1 (37 KOs), last fought in September 2022 and when past his best lost his third fight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The middleweight king deserved better from that trilogy - he was held to a highly contentious draw in 2017 and lost another debatable decision the following year - but his quality was long confirmed before that.
By far the best middleweight in the world during the 2010s, Golovkin, for a time, was the most fearsome boxer in the world. Opponents like Matthew Macklin, Gabriel Rosado, Daniel Geale, Kell Brook, Grzegorz Proksa and Martin Murray stood no chance whatsoever against the educated slugger from Kazakhstan.
Benn was another known for stealing the senses of middleweights. The Londoner, who won world belts at 160lbs and super middleweight, retired in 1996 after two losses to Steve Collins but it is likely his rivalry with Chris Eubank and, more so, his victory over the heavily favored Gerald McClellan that defines him. McClellan was never the same again after Benn halted him in 10 rounds to successfully defend his WBC 168lbs title. Truth be told, given McClellan's fate, Benn didn't quite recover either. Benn, 42-5-1 (35 KOs), can also boast victories over Iran Barkley, Henry Wharton, Doug De Witt and Mauro Galvano.
Tarver, 31-6-1 (22 KOs), scored a huge upset in 2004 when he knocked out the great Roy Jones Jnr in 2004 to become the main man at light heavyweight. He would repeat the triumph, albeit on the cards, the following year after splitting two battles with Glen Johnson. The charismatic southpaw would also defeat Clinton Woods, Reggie Johnson and Montell Griffin.
Other inductees include: Naoko Fujioka and Jackie Nava in the Women's Modern Category; Russ Abner, Frank Cappuccino, Jimmy Glenn (posthumous), Dr Edwin "Flip" Homansky in the Non-participant category; Kevin Iole, Alex Wallau (posthumous) in the Observer category; and Jimmy Clabby (posthumous) in the Old Timer category.
