2008 guaranteed him that already.
If he would've retired back then, no one would've complained. He was already a 6 division champ before fighting above welterweight.
His fights with Barrera I & II, Morales I-III, Marquez I & II, and to end '08 with the dream match against Dela Hoya. Those fights alone sealed him for 1st ballot hof.
His retirement record would've been w-l-d 48-3-2 with 36KOs
I think ts is wondering at what point in his career did he make it official. Basically was he b4 he moved up.
He already was b4 he even got 147, reason why Pac vs Floyd was one of a kind. Both were HOFers almost a decade before they were mentioned to fight each other