The 2021 International Boxing Hall of Fame was setting up to be a particularly special year. Due to COVID, the 2020 induction was to be combined with 2021. For fans who could make it to Canastota, they were in for a treat.
Floyd Mayweather and Bernard Hopkins would have headlined a field that also included Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Wladimir Klitschko, Andre Ward, Laila Ali, Christy Martin, Lucia Rijker, and Ann Wolfe in the modern men’s and women’s categories.
As announced Tuesday, the hot ticket will have to wait until 2022. As COVID continues to rage, the IBHOF will push off having an induction ceremony for another year. That means the possibility of James Toney, among others, being added to what will see at least nine men and six women enter as part of the modern wing of the Hall on the same day.
The question is: will the Hall of Fame still be there to see it happen.
As those who have received letters in recent months, or those who have visited the website know, the Hall has reached out to the boxing community for help. As the letter of appeal states,“Museum visitor traffic is projected to be drastically less for some time and on-site fundraising events will continue to be limited. As such, we are sending this letter of appeal asking supporters to kindly consider making a donation to the IBHOF. We certainly understand that finances are a concern for everyone at this time. Only provided that you are able to do so, any monetary donation will be greatly appreciated.”
Folks are hurting all over and not everyone can contribute. For those who can, even those who haven’t been able to attend an induction yet and may never, it’s not a bad choice.
Reality is simple here. One of the biggest drivers in keeping the doors to the Hall of Fame open is the revenue from induction weekends. It’s a boon for the Hall and the community around it.
The IBHOF isn’t a perfect entity. While they have added wrinkles to the induction process, the mandatory minimum of three new entrants a year and the outcomes of voting by plurality have been heavily debated for years. While the overwhelming majority of inductees more than belong, the exclusion of some historically great fighters for names it’s hard to objectively argue ahead of them has left some scratching their head.
The tradeoff isn’t considered often enough. A standard akin to the Baseball Hall could easily result in years without new inductees in the modern category. Unlike major organized team sports, there isn’t a behemoth to look to for help. While the IBHOF has sponsors from around the industry, it reflects its passion for a decentralized sport.
With that tradeoff of the occasional argued new member of the Hall, boxing fans have a brick and mortar Hall of Fame to visit. With opportunities to attend the dinner and autograph signings galore along with other events, it’s an incredibly accessible assemblages of boxing greatness. There might not be as many boxing fans as there were once upon a time, but those who have stuck with this crazy sport through thick and thin often have done so across generations.
The chance to shake hands with not just a childhood hero but also a grandparent’s idol in any field are rare.
Boxing has had other Hall’s of Fame. Nevada has established their own but with a focus on boxing in the state. The World Boxing Hall didn’t survive. Ring Magazine, which had a more rigid induction process, is really the spiritual successor to Canastota, but it didn’t have the bells and whistles of the IBHOF.
The IBHOF has endured for some thirty years and grown to be embraced with national coverage of its classes. The sport would be less without it.
Along with a hope for the doors to stay open, and to inform of the options to help, this is also a chance to make a suggestion. 2022 is going to be a once in a lifetime induction ceremony. It would be the best year possible to rectify a glaring, ongoing omission. To do it would mean taking some choice away from the IBHOF voters, just this once.
As a spiritual successor to the old Ring Hall, it should be no surprise both Halls share most of the same inductees.
Most, but not all. While the IBHOF has added some names Ring never got to like Cocoa Kid, Holman Williams, and Masao Ohba, there remain some stragglers who belong. The way voting works now, they may never get in. The Old Timer category is now split into a pair of ballots voted on bi-annually with only one selection guaranteed each year from that ballot.
That has meant an enduring wait for Jimmy Britt, Ceferino Garcia, Harry Jeffra, Gus Lesnevich, Peter Maher, and Yoshio Shirai. The minimum to get just those six into the Hall would be another dozen years and they aren’t the only deserving names on the ballots. Those men were already declared Hall of Famers by voters likely situated in a time to be closer to recognizing their contributions under a more rigid induction standard.
It’s past time for their names to be added to the Hall that counts in the 21st century.
In 2022, why not declare a bulk induction for all of them, at least those who merited induction in the Marquis of Queensbury/gloved era, at once? It’s hard to imagine current voters would object. It could even be put up to a separate vote, though just doing it works just as well.
While many of the names that remain missing are long gone from this plane, there are family members still alive waiting for their call. They know Uncle Harry or cousin Gus was a Hall of Famer but they’ve never had the chance to celebrate their kin the way Canastota allows. They will dwindle with time and embracing them as part of a special three-year induction celebration would be a hell of a capper to the 2022 induction.
First, the doors have to stay open. When they do, let them be opened to everyone who belongs.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
