The REAL truth about the Hall of Fame...

[Mugwump]

Wilde is in the hall of fame.

Doh!

[grayfist]

No disrespect meant, but, I still remain far from being convinced about Barry McGuigan being there. The feat of ending the very, very long reign of Eusebio Pedroza is just about the only argument I can find in favor of McGuigan. By itself, the achievement, while impressive, remains pretty unconvincing as Hall of Fame credential. Even when taken alongside a points win over La Porte, McGuigan's case can improve only by a wee bit.

McGuigan only had two successful defenses (Bernard Taylor and Danilo Cabrera, who can best be described as gatekeepers, although Taylor once held Pedroza to a draw). In his third defense, he lost the title to Steve Cruz--another gatekeeper who was luckier than Taylor and Cabrera. Cruz held the belt for less than a year only to hand it over to Esparragoza, who is not in the Hall of Fame, but, nonethelss, successfully defended the belt five times more than McGuigan did.

Barry held a title in only one division, and for only a short time. Other than Pedroza, he has no name/s in his resume' that is/are in the Hall of Fame. He lost his title (although he was leading until the last round when he got KD a few times, thereby enabling Cruz to win) to someone who quickly lost what he took from Barry.

I dunno, but, I just can't see how McGuigan's resume' can be seen as reflecting a Hall of Fame type of career.