Is Moorer Hall of fame worthy?

[JAB5239]

That was a great ****ing fight though. And Cooper had Holyfield down once or twice too IIRC.

It was a great fight. I just revisited the highlights. Cooper had him hurt pretty bad. Holy never went down but Mills Lane called a knock down because Holyfield held the top rope to keep from hitting the floor. The last punch looked to be to the back of Evanders head, but that's boxing. Stuff happens and it didn't look intentional to me. Cooper was sort of the 90's version of Derek Chisora. A game fighter, but just not good enough to beat the best.

[Willie Pep 229]

He was never unbeatable. I remember when he fought Cooper, and Bert was keeping it close. Moorer had to get off the floor twice in a great slugfest.

I agree, I never thought so either . . . I was just referencing how KO Magazine was all in . . . That it is a common mistake to believe . . . At least to one writer, at KO, he was thought to be such.

But none of this actually goes to the question.

I'm a yes as explained above.

[Slugfester]

The most important word in the discussion is being overlooked IMO--Fame. Moorer is famous for being KO'd with one punch several times. That fame is not good enough. Personally, I would like to see a a lot fewer inductees. So-so fighters dilute the neighborhood.

[QueensburyRules]

It was a great fight. I just revisited the highlights. Cooper had him hurt pretty bad. Holy never went down but Mills Lane called a knock down because Holyfield held the top rope to keep from hitting the floor. The last punch looked to be to the back of Evanders head, but that's boxing. Stuff happens and it didn't look intentional to me. Cooper was sort of the 90's version of Derek Chisora. A game fighter, but just not good enough to beat the best.

- - Cooper probably KOs Chisora who was never a big puncher, but certainly more professional and in better shape than cracked out Cooper in the ring.

Cooper tells of the time a week before an important fight when DKing sent him a bevy of hoes and crack that ended up being the whole of his last week of training.

[Dr. Z]

I get your point about lineal. I also agree with Dan though. Moorer was always one punch from losing, he was very vulnerable in my opinion. Right now I'm on the fence hoping someone can change my mind in either direction.

Well by the low standards of the professional boxing hall of fame and the fact that he is an American heavyweight ( 90% of the HOF voters are form the USA ) I say yes he will. He has career wins over Holyfield, Bean, Schultz, Botha, B Cooper and Jirov. Not many of them were ranked by ring magazine when he fought them which I judge as the standard of competition.

Not that I'm going to change your mind, just saying.

Who is Dan?

[Dr. Z]

It was a great fight. I just revisited the highlights. Cooper had him hurt pretty bad. Holy never went down but Mills Lane called a knock down because Holyfield held the top rope to keep from hitting the floor. The last punch looked to be to the back of Evanders head, but that's boxing. Stuff happens and it didn't look intentional to me. Cooper was sort of the 90's version of Derek Chisora. A game fighter, but just not good enough to beat the best.

Being a good game fighter in the 1990 is better than being a good game fighter in 2020's. Yes Holyfield received a bit of home cooking by Lane in the Cooper fight.

[Bundana]

Found this on Facebook today. Some impressive stats.

Is #michael #moorer hall of fame worthy?

Won lightheavy world title within only 9 months of pro debut.

Highest ring magazine ranking after 1 year of pro debut.
Debut march 1988, #Ring #NO3 January 1989

Youngest lightheavy to win a version of a lightheavy world title in history. 21 years.

Most consecutive kos in lightheavy world title defences #9
20 straight kos at 175lb

First southpaw to win a heavyweight world title.

Identical fight record to mike tyson on route to winning a lineal heavyweight world title.
35-0 31kos.

The only boxer in history ever to win a world title at lightheavy, then go onto win a heavyweight world title on more than 1 separate occasion.

In june 1996 became first heavyweight since Muhammed ali, to win a version of a heavyweight world title 3x seperately.

Joint 2nd with mike tyson in having the highest ko% on route to winning a lineal heavyweight championship. 88.9 %

The only southpaw ever ever to win a lineal heavyweight world championship.

Along with usyk the only southpaws to hold a unified heavyweight world championship.

Bill Speary made his pro debut in February 1940, and was ranked #1 featherweight by The Ring by the end of that year - making him the only boxer to rise to the #1 spot of his division in his rookie year!

The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings: 1940 - BoxRec

[Willow The Wisp]

Of course he is. All real world heavyweight champions are automatically worthy. That includes Marvin Hart, Primo Carnera, Leon Spinks, Buster Douglas, Michael Moorer, Shannon Briggs, Tyson Fury; plus all the others who are already in there. It's by light years the most meaningful title in combat sports (and from a whole history vantage point, sports in general), and there's only one real title. Let's not close our eyes to what history teaches us. As a senior histoian, I'm proud to be a voice at the table, and that's a good thing for boxing. Trust and believe.

The distorted idea of all those Tom, **** & Harry beltholders being actual heavyweight champions is just evidence that fans don't care to educate themselves, and promoters are taking advantage.
Being in the succession of Heavyweight champions is a fairly rare thing.
There have only been 7 known world heavyweight champions in the prehistorical era, 44 in the antiquity era, 47 in the classical era, and 38 in the modern era. It's simply not something that everyone who competes gets a trophy for, like sanctioning body title belts.
Moorer won that one title and won it just once like Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Guys like Monty Masters, Greg Page, Vitali Klitschko and Anthony Joshua never did. That's history, and debates about it are in defense of ignorance and gullibility = A no go.

An observation of how good a fighter was is a huge piece of the eligibility calculation, but it is not the only piece. Historical impact matters also. On that score, Moorer gets it.

[The D3vil]

Who was the Venezuelan featherweight who ran up such a string of KOs a decade or so ago?

You talking about Edwin Valero?

[billeau2]

Lol.....good points. I wouldn't personally have either of those guys and many others who are enshrined in there. But it's the hall of fame, not the hall of boxing accomplishments.

Hall of Fames bring out the antisocial aspects of my being... baseball, a game originally frequented and developed by social degenerates, sociopaths, etc... and I mean that in a good way! The hard nosed ways of men with not much to lose made the game more than another version of Cricket with its class consciousness, white uniforms and squeaky clean image... Only boys from downtown let the ball bounce first in stickball! Fairies! I tell ya. Anyway... baseball players fought, gambled, drank... and that was when they were not committing felonies! Yet a throwback player, a representation of that attitude and indomitable spirit... the great Pete Rose, was turned away by Cooperstown. The nerve! I mean God invented astericks for a reason right?

I feel the same way about Boxings Hall... It takes men, willing to argue, debate the finer points, to form a dialectic and a list of the real 3 letters that matter: ATG. On that note there are fighters like Moorer who were much respected by other fighters more than fans. To have a rep as one of the top dogs at Kronk, when it was really Kronk with Stewart and the plethora of amazing fighters is worthy. But, it does not quite measure according to Hall of Fame criteria. Moorer was, imo typical of a great light heavy because, when it was time he beat a great heavyweight, but really shined in the weight class below. Yet, as you say, and it is true, the record does not really show greatness. And so it will always be that Moorer inspires conversation on this issue. I always tell people to watch his fight against Holly... It was a clinic.