[mgrover]

i mean someone like hopkins, you can make an argument for, roy jones jr, james toney, but gatti? no offence to the man but who has he beat, seems like he lost his major fights, de la hoya, mayweather. maybe i don't think this era matches up to whats been before, i thought there was supposed to be progress in the way people fight, but boxing seems to of regressed, many people lack the fundementals and for that i don't think they should be inducted. i mean a slug fest isn't boxing, any two idiots in the street can do it, the purity of it seems lost in all these people trying to make a name for them selves because they have that magical 0 and this percentage of KO's but tiny balls when it comes to facing elite opposition.

This post has been edited by mgrover: May 1 2012, 04:29 PM

[neophyte7]

LMAO.. with all due respect to the deceased ... Might as well put Emmanuel Agustus in there for his gatekeeper statuse if you got Gatti and Ward in there... make up some dubious category.. SLY stallone?? LMAO

[daprofessor]

tony zale and rocky graziano are in the hall of fame for their trilogy. both lost big fights and neither has a victory over anyone significant other than each other. both had a significant amount of losses. losses don't eliminate one from getting to the bhof.

[Cshel86]

A trilogy with no major title on the line means crap..

Since when does a title actually hold weight nowadays? Barrera/Morales, Morales/Pacquiao, Marquez/Pacquiao...I can say one thing, the LAST thing that was thought about was a title belt (major or not).

Hell, people are winning vacated titles (against lesser opposition) and they're also winning titles at catchweights, sound familiar? I believe every fighter has won a vacated title, or two, or three.

Anyway trilogies are full of excitement, who is rarely forgotten. That entertainment provided by the fighters during those trilogies is what people tend to remember most, especially if breathes a breath of fresh air into the sport.

i mean someone like hopkins, you can make an argument for, roy jones jr, james toney, but gatti? no offence to the man but who has he beat, seems like he lost his major fights, de la hoya, mayweather. maybe i don't think this era matches up to whats been before, i thought there was supposed to be progress in the way people fight, but boxing seems to of regressed, many people lack the fundementals and for that i don't think they should be inducted. i mean a slug fest isn't boxing, any two idiots in the street can do it, the purity of it seems lost in all these people trying to make a name for them selves because they have that magical 0 and this percentage of KO's but tiny balls when it comes to facing elite opposition.

If you think about it, Oscar lost a lot of his big fights, but guess what...he was exciting and drew so much attention to the sport. He'll definitely be inducted in the near future. I agree with the regression of the sport and fighting styles. Those guys back in the day used to beat eachother's brains out too, which has left most of them currently brain damaged and broke.

I understand fighters wanting to be as safe as possible in the ring (due to the above stated reasons), but the whole "fighting soft touches" and trying to remain undefeated, tends to chap my ass as well. They keep it up, THEN try to call out the big name fighters just for a payday, and most of them dont care if they win or lose those fights, as long as the money's in place.

Again, yes, guys fighting the best has gone to shit in the past few years. As boxing fans, we've been somewhat forced to "make the best" of what's being presented to us as "quality fights", while dealing with a bunch of ducking, protecting fighters, diva attitudes, false senses of entitlement from fighters, done-to-death megafight story lines, as well the "boxing is a business" bullshit being shoved down our throats.

[Hotsauce]

Since when does a title actually hold weight nowadays? Barrera/Morales, Morales/Pacquiao, Marquez/Pacquiao...I can say one thing, the LAST thing that was thought about was a title belt (major or not).

Hell, people are winning vacated titles (against lesser opposition) and they're also winning titles at catchweights, sound familiar? I believe every fighter has won a vacated title, or two, or three.

Anyway trilogies are full of excitement, who is rarely forgotten. That entertainment provided by the fighters during those trilogies is what people tend to remember most, especially if breathes a breath of fresh air into the sport.


If you think about it, Oscar lost a lot of his big fights, but guess what...he was exciting and drew so much attention to the sport. He'll definitely be inducted in the near future. I agree with the regression of the sport and fighting styles. Those guys back in the day used to beat eachother's brains out too, which has left most of them currently brain damaged and broke.

I understand fighters wanting to be as safe as possible in the ring (due to the above stated reasons), but the whole "fighting soft touches" and trying to remain undefeated, tends to chap my ass as well. They keep it up, THEN try to call out the big name fighters just for a payday, and most of them dont care if they win or lose those fights, as long as the money's in place.

Again, yes, guys fighting the best has gone to shit in the past few years. As boxing fans, we've been somewhat forced to "make the best" of what's being presented to us as "quality fights", while dealing with a bunch of ducking, protecting fighters, diva attitudes, false senses of entitlement from fighters, done-to-death megafight story lines, as well the "boxing is a business" bullshit being shoved down our throats.

yea but oscar had gbp and he was a big ppv star

[Cshel86]

yea but oscar had gbp and he was a big ppv star

I agree with that, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that he lost his biggest fights. To take the edge off of that, would be the fact that he was in those big fights in the first place. To drive the point even further, would be to go back to your initial point...he was a big PPV star and has a big promotional company.

[mgrover]

I agree with that, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that he lost his biggest fights. To take the edge off of that, would be the fact that he was in those big fights in the first place. To drive the point even further, would be to go back to your initial point...he was a big PPV star and has a big promotional company.

who ever said oscar should be in there.

[Cshel86]

who ever said oscar should be in there.

Good question, but let's not be surprised if it happens.

[bMaK]

Cotto's the better and more accomplished fighter, hands down. Gatti was exciting and identified with fans because of boxing's old-school culture. His credentials get boosted because he died early. Cotto gets the nod from me and it's not really close.

Sly Stallone in the hall is a fuckin joke. Again, it comes back to the dominant, long-running culture of tough-guy, macho Italian cats and how well those movies fit the narrative of the sport's background. I understand the influence and all that punk ass rationalized shit, but Rocky don't belong in the hall like Willie Beamon don't belong in the NFL Hall of Fame.

[mgrover]

Good question, but let's not be surprised if it happens.

he'll probably get in for beating washed up legends and holding the PPV record with Mayweather.