HOF = great fighters not bums like Gatti!

[boxer2k5]

and the fact that hes held 2 world titles at 2 different wieghts , never ducked nebody in hes life and always entertained no matter what means he should not get what is rightfully hes and that been a hof spot
yah he might be a "bum" but if i could achieve half as much as him and get called a bum from arm chair fans id be the happiest bum in the world

i agree
not everyone can be a maywether or ray lenord

but gattis heart and what he did for the fans
by giving some great fights no matter who he fought
deserves hall of fame

[ferocity]

1) EVERYBODY acknowledges that the 140 title was a paper title: Floyd, Merchant, Brian Kenny, etc. And YOU know it, too. Gatti was not the true champion at 140. Gatti was champion ONCE: when he beat Tracy Patterson at 130 about ten years ago. Nobody can take that from him.

2) "Never ducked anybody" is not HOF criteria. Demarcus corley, emanuel augustus, jesse james leija, etc are perennial gatekeepers. IT IS THEIR JOB TO FIGHT THE BEST. Should they be in the Hall?

Fighting the best isn't the criteria. Beating the best is. Or at least being competitive with the best. GATTI DID NEITHER.

3)"always entertained"? Yes, gatti was an entertaining fighter. Against other lower-rung guys. You can see that on any Friday night at Church Street Gym. Two unskilled guys going at it and giving it their all.

Listen, Gatti had alot of heart. Left it all in the ring. I respect that. So say a prayer for him. Keep him in your heart. Buy some memorabilia. Applaud when he walks in the room. But the IBHOF is not the place to honor guys who did what he did.

Great post, i couldn't have said it better.

Gatti lost to Manfredy, Robinson and Ward in his prime, should these guys be let into the HOF too?

Gatti was a good fighter and nobody can take that away from him, but HOF

[LiLHopkins]

Do you know what you have to give to Gatti si that he never ducked anyone.. Unlike some of these fighters that say that they will fight anyone anywhere. I.e. Mayweather,Jorge Arce,Hatton.

[ferocity]

Do you know what you have to give to Gatti si that he never ducked anyone.. Unlike some of these fighters that say that they will fight anyone anywhere. I.e. Mayweather,Jorge Arce,Hatton.

i dont' know how true that is. He chose his opponets very carfully. He could have gotten a title shot against Tszyu when Tszyu was champion but we know that didn't happen. Vince Phillips would have fought Gatti he never fought Phillips, Gatti picked his opponets carfully just as Mayweather is doing. And i don't know how true it is that Jorge Arce is ducking anybody. All i hear is people on here talking about that fight with no news links to prove it.

[guru]

he's not hall of fame material, but his fights sure were and his heart is...

[ferocity]

he's not hall of fame material, but his fights sure were and his heart is...

If thats the case then I want Julio Gonzalez and Antonio Diaz into the Hall of Fame, Julio Gonzalez gave us his fight v. Julian Letterlough along with many of other exciting fights. Antonio Diaz gave us his figh v. Hector Quiroz, Micky Ward, Ivan Robinson along with many other exciting fights.

Plus Julio Gonzalez beat an elite fighter in Darious Michalchinski and handed him his very first lose in his backyard. Somthing Gatti never did.

So if Gatti gets in so does Julio Gonzalez and Antonio Diaz!

[THE REAL NINJA]

Based on what was said if you're not letting Gatti in then I say you need to take a lot of fighters out. The boxing HOF is not only for the best of the best but also fighters that showed heart and entertain.

[JMCbulls]

and the fact that hes held 2 world titles at 2 different wieghts , never ducked nebody in hes life and always entertained no matter what means he should not get what is rightfully hes and that been a hof spot
yah he might be a "bum" but if i could achieve half as much as him and get called a bum from arm chair fans id be the happiest bum in the world

great post...


gatti is a true fighter, never ducks, never quits, and never complains. he is a GOOD fighter, and a GREAT entertainer.

[The_One77]

I think people are dismissing Fernando's big wins....why is it when ODH beats Ike Quartey he is fully credited but when Vargas defeats him it is merely overlooked. Same with Winky Wright.

Vagras beat Ike Quartey, Raul Marquez and Winky Wright..
Other fighters include Luis Ramon Campas, Wilfredo Rivera, Javier Castillejo and Raymond Joval.

That's not too bad imo and he certainly just wasn't a guy who never won a big fight because he certainly did.

[ferocity]

I think people are dismissing Fernando's big wins....why is it when ODH beats Ike Quartey he is fully credited but when Vargas defeats him it is merely overlooked. Same with Winky Wright.

Vagras beat Ike Quartey, Raul Marquez and Winky Wright..
Other fighters include Luis Ramon Campas, Wilfredo Rivera, Javier Castillejo and Raymond Joval.

That's not too bad imo and he certainly just wasn't a guy who never won a big fight because he certainly did.

The list of fighters you mentioned speak for themselves. Winky is considered top 2 p4p and Castejello is the middlweight champion and the Ike Quarty win is big. Along with Campas who at the time was respected be a lot of the media and fans and i think Joval still hasn't lost since facing Vargas. Vargas has a good resume he beat some top fighters who today are still very competitive.