By Gav Duthie: Due to previous Covid restrictions, the Boxing Hall of Fame will combine 3 years of inductees this June. There are some amazing fighters being honored in June and some so legendary they are in at the first year of eligibility.
Also, 2020 was the first year for inducting female boxers so some of the greatest women ever to lace up the gloves will be on show.
Seeing as we are just out of 2021 I thought I would discuss some of the retired boxers from last year and if they might get inducted into the hall of fame at the first year of eligibility in 2025 also.
Class of 2020 (Boxers only)
Hopkins, Marquez, Mosley, Frank Erne, Paddy Ryan, Barbara Buttrick, Christy Martin, Lucia Rijker
Class of 2021
Wlad Klitschko, Mayweather, Andre Ward, Laila Ali, Ann Wolfe, Marian Trimiar, Jackie Tonawanda, Davey Moore
Class of 2022
Holly Holm, Miguel Cotto, Roy Jones Jnr, James Toney, Regina Halmich
Retirees in 2021 (Eligible in 2025)
Manny Pacquiao 62-8-2 (39)
2025 induction – Yes
Future Induction – Yes
Of course, there cannot be any doubt that Manny Pacquiao will be inducted into the Hall of Fame straight away in 2025. He is the only 8-division world champion in the history of the sport and that is unlikely to ever be replicated.
The feat was only achieved because he was fighting in such low weight classes in his younger days only because he barely ate anything because he couldn’t afford to growing up and he was a young teenager.
He was stopped twice in his early career really because he had very little strength in his body.
Although he had won a world title before he really came into his own against the late Lehlo Ledwaba who died of covid in 2021 when he won the IBF Super Bantamweight title in 2001.
When you consider that Pacquiao was still a world champion 20 years later it is almost superhuman.
In those two decades, he defeated Mexican legends Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Juan Manuel Marquez all twice, as well as Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, Tim Bradley, and at over 40 years old Keith Thurman.
His contribution to the sport and as a role model to Filipino fighters and his people is unrivaled.
Carl Frampton 28-3 (16)
2025 Induction – No
Future Induction – No
In the summer of 2016, I was sure Carl Frampton would be a Hall of Fame fighter. He had just taken the unbeaten record of Mexican legend Leo Santa Cruz with a flawless boxing performance.
Santa Cruz who has gone on to become a 4-weight world champion was expected to win so this victory put Frampton in the top 5 P4P fighters.
Since then, however, Frampton lost the rematch had major legal issues with Barry McGuigan and his management company hence never quite reaching those heights again.
He was still significant in those 5 years between 2016 and 2021 in defeating Nonito Donaire and a fight of the year defeat against Josh Warrington.
He would have made the Hall had he beaten Jamel Herring to become a 3 weight world champion something only 3 Brits have achieved (Bob Fitzsimmons, Duke Mckenzie, and Ricky Burns) but he was never really in the fight.
A great boxer, a great family man, and one of the best Northern Ireland have ever produced but for me, he just misses out.
Alexander Povetkin 36-3-1 (25)
2025 induction – No
Future induction – No
A fantastic action fighter who has one of the best resumes/CV in heavyweight boxing over the last 20 years.
An Olympic Gold medalist in 2004 so as a professional he fought over 2 era’s beating the likes of Chris Byrd, Hasim Rahman, and Ruslan Chagaev from the early days and this era top contenders like Carlos Takam, Mahmoud Charr, and Dillian Whyte.
His only losses were to top champions Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua before his retirement loss to Dillian Whyte.
The biggest negatives for Povetkin were two failed drug tests for Meldonium leading to a cancellation of a fight against Deontay Wilder and Ostarine against Bermaine Stiverne.
These are black marks against his character despite both situations being somewhat misunderstood.
Worst of all was that he never got the Wilder fight, which I feel he would have had a good chance of beating at that time in the summer of 2016.
As good as he was without a top-class win and some controversies, he will just be seen as a good fighter from his era but not a Hall of Famer.
Shawn Porter 31-4-1 (17)
2025 induction – No
Future Induction – Yes
Few fighters can say they fought the best of their era, Shawn Porter was one of them. Some he lost but others he won. You would have to say he just fell short in the biggest fights of his career, just.
He lost a split to Errol Spence, a majority decision versus Kell Brook, a close unanimous against Keith Thurman, and a late stoppage in his final fight against Terence Crawford.
He beat a prime Devon Alexander though, destroyed Paulie Malignaggi, and had decision wins over Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, and current WBA champion Yordenis Ugas.
He was a two-time world champion at welterweight and a great all-action fighter. I’m not sure he becomes a hall of fame fighter on his CV/resume alone but Showtime Shawn Porter is just so much more than a boxer.
He is the only current relevant boxer to have his own podcast, he has worked on almost every network covering the sport due to his skills as an analyst.
He is a tremendous role model who would do anything to help anyone in the sport. He is even away to star in a boxing movie soon. Due to all this, I think he will eventually make the Hall of Fame as he is a fighter that we won’t forget and will stay in the sport in one way or another for the rest of his life.
Female mention
Cecilia Braekhus 36-2 (9) has not officially retired, so she will probably not be in the conversation. Jessica McCaskill claims to have retired her but going by Braekhus social media she is still an active fighter.
If she doesn’t box again though she is definitely a hall of fame fighter. She has only lost as she has approached 40 years old.
She was the first-ever undisputed female champion and one of only 5 fighters to achieve this. The Columbian/Norweigan beat the best of her era Mikaela Lauren x2, Anne Sophie Mathis, Mia St John, and Erica Annabella Farias, as well as many other contenders.
Unfortunately, female boxing has only started to get the respect it deserves recently when she was towards the end of her career. When she does hang up her gloves the Hall of Fame will come knocking.