By Francisco Salazar

With the number of years Rich Marotta has been involved in the world in sports, particularly in boxing, it would seem okay for him to become forgotten.

When it was not calling football, basketball, or hockey since the mid-1970s, Marotta has been behind the microphone for some of boxing’s most compelling fights and events.

He has seen it all with knockouts, the personalities, the upsets, and fighters becoming legends in the sport legends and fighters falling from grace.

As his career has moved into cruise control, one would think Marotta can coast until there is no urge for him to call fights anymore.

Until now.

It took a little research (a lot lately) for Marotta to realize that one day that there was not a Hall of Fame in Nevada. You read that correctly. No Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.

With so much boxing history in Las Vegas, Reno, and in between, Marotta decided to do something about that.

While it would take some time to compare the newly-created Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY, it is a ripple that could later become a wave in the sport of boxing.

The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame will hold its inaugural induction ceremony this Saturday night at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. 19 individuals from the sport of boxing will be inducted on that night.

While it has been a labor of love planning the festivities for this Saturday evening, it was harder than Marotta realized.

“It’s a lot of hard work being that is the inaugural event,” Marotta told Boxingscene.com over the phone on Sunday night. “It is a lot more complex and overwhelming than I had anticipated. I didn’t understand the enormity because I’m a broadcaster with no business, event, or corporate experience. But, I’ve been fortunate to surround myself with people who have worked hard in getting this off the ground and for the event (on Saturday night.)”

Marotta has been recognized for his work in the boxing field and through other sports. He was the recipient of the Sam Taub Award for excellence in boxing broadcasting journalism in 2006. In 2011, he was inducted into the Southern California Sportscasters Hall of Fame and the California Boxing Hall of Fame.

He could be heard weekday mornings on the Bill Handel Show on KFI AM 640 out of Los Angeles, but works from a studio at his Reno, NV home.

He has called the boxing play-by-play for Prime Ticket and KCAL 9 Sports (Southern California) during the 1990’s and Fox Sports during the early 2000’s. He still works behind the mic, recently calling the action last month for Top Rank’s website on the Macau card and for Fox Sports’ telecast of the Golden Boy Promotions event in Indio.

With respect to his current radio and television gigs, it seems as though Marotta comes alive in planning the inaugural induction ceremony of the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. Not to mention Marotta wants to make the Nevada Hall of Fame a permanent fixture for years to come.

Marotta believes it is long overdue.

“Many people in the sport of boxing say it is long overdue. Especially the inductees.”

There will be 19 individuals who will be inducted into the Hall on Saturday. There is a category for Nevada resident boxers and non-Nevada resident boxers. Other categories include trainers, officials, media, promoters, executives, and special contributors.

The Nevada resident category includes Mike Tyson, Mike McCallum, and the late Diego Corrales. The non-Nevada resident category includes Julio Cesar Chávez, Ray Leonard, Larry Colmes, and Oscar De La Hoya.

For the non-resident category, there are arbitrary rules to be inducted by voters. The fighter could either have fought 12 times in Nevada or fought in seven world title fights. After doing research, Marotta was blown away by interesting facts.

“Would you believe Oscar De La Hoya fought in Nevada 31 times to Julio Cesar Chavez’s 23 times?”

Even in its infancy, the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame is eager to leave an impact on the sport. Money raised through sponsors from the event will be donated to worthy causes, including the Truckee Boys and Girls Club, Barry’s Boxing Club, and the University of Nevada at Reno and Las Vegas, in support of the boxing programs.

Marotta has not tackled this alone. He has received assistance from is son, Joey, publicist Fred Sternburg, Saville Kellner, and others have donated their time to Saturday’s event and the formation of the Hall.

There may be kinks in Saturday’s event. There may be unforeseeable things that may prevent the event from running smoothly.

However, the fighters, promoters, and the personalities that will be in attendance far outweigh any glitches that occur that evening. Boxing and success will be celebrated and attitudes will be checked at the door.

Celebrating the camaraderie and being in the presence of one another is what is important to Marotta and the sport of boxing.

“It will be an emotional night. Eva Futch (widow of Eddie Futch) and Michelle Corrales (widow of Diego Corrales) will accept awards on behalf of their husbands. Mills Lane will be making the first public appearance since suffering his stroke years ago. It’ll be an exciting night. That’s for sure.”

If only hobbies and passions could be just like Marotta’s.

2013 inductees to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame:
Nevada Resident Boxers: Diego Corrales, Mike McCallum, Mike Tyson
Non-Nevada Resident Boxers: Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Larry Holmes, Ray Leonard.
Trainers: Eddie Futch, Freddie Roach
Officials: Joe Cortez, Mills Lane
Media: Al Bernstein, Royce Feour
Promoters: Bob Arum, Don King
Executives: James Nave, Marc Ratner
Special Contributors: Kirk Kevorkian, Sig Rogich

Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame Officers:
Rich Marotta (Founder and CEO), Saville Kellner, James Wimberly

Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame Board of Directors:
Scott Voeller, Executive Vice-President, MGM Grand Resorts International
Marty Corwin, President, MC Productions
Col. Bob Sheridan, Hall of Fame Boxing Broadcaster
Wayne McCullough, Former WBC Bantamweight Champion
Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Boxing Editor and Columnist
Richard Steele, Hall of Fame Referee
Saville Kellner, CEO Lake Industries, and Black Card Radio
Dave Cokin, Radio Talk Show Host, ESPN 1100, Las Vegas
Alvaro Puentes, Program Director ESPN Deportes, Las Vegas
Panama, Radio Talk Show Host, CBS Sports Radio-Reno

For information on the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, go to nvbhof.com

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper. He could be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on twitter at FSalazarBoxing