Comments Thread For: The International Boxing Hall of Fame at 35: Is it time to update the process?

[BoxingUpdates]

Thirty-five years on from the International Boxing Hall of Fame first opening its doors and beginning the process of determining the inductees for its inaugural 1990 class, there is one -- and only one -- thing about the IBHOF that everyone with an interest in the museum in Canastota, New York can agree on: Manny Pacquiao deserves to, and will, go in next June.
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[anonymous2.0]

What from I've heard the boxing HOF future isn't looking good. Friend said the HOF is currently propped up by auction sales of memorabilia but obviously that can't last. I've been to a few HOF fights and those cards are, for the occasion, pretty low level and lacking in support. First HOF fight card I went to I saw Judah, Mosley, Cotto, and Freddy Roach. Last one I went to I didn't see anyone there and you barely knew it was HOF weekend other then the minimal amount of banners advertising it.

[elfag]

The HOF is physically in the middle of nowhere. no idea why they picked remote upper new york. I thought about going there when I lived in the north east since it was "close" but "close" amounted to a 6-8 hour drive so that never happened.


It would be sad if they went bankrupt and shut down because it would be nice for a historical/ mueseum type organization to stay around. But boxing also has a lot of problems the main problems are the ABC orgs and their ****** ****.

Isnt IBF ready to strip Beterbiev? so the rematch wont be for 4 titles.

[roademier]

Carmen Basilio and Billy Backus were from there and some of the locals wanted to celebrate Carmen's boxing career.

[Bullrider]

I'd rather not see boxers fighting once a year get to be mentioned as potential candidates. I'd rather see active ones even with loses.

Inactivity is an insult to fans and the sport at large.

[jrpeltz]

I love the fact that it's in Canastota, NY, home of Carmen Basilio and Billy Backus. Football HOF is in Canton, OH, not exactly a metropolis. Basketball is in Springfield, MA. Baseball is Cooperstown, NY. The problem is that most of the current day activities no longer are in Canastota, but at Turning Stone Casino about 10 miles away in Verona, NY. Why? Probably due to finances, probably due to Canastota, losing Graziano's Bar/Restaurant, which was demolished a few years ago. It was the Toot Shors of Canastota--not for its elegance but because everyone hung out there and traded war stories. Years ago we lost the Dinerant, a diner a few blocks in back of the Days Inn. We also lost Casatinas, where we'd go on Friday night with Don and Lorraine Chargin and family for a terrific meal. We always had a pre-banquet get together at Greystone Castle and that's no longer on the schedule. Everyone would mingle and get autographs. The actual induction ceremony on Sunday, always held outdoors on the HOF grounds, no longer is held there. Instead, it's in the austere ballroom of Turning Stone which has none of the gaiety of the outdoor function. However, I do not know the finances of the HOF and I am sure that is a major reason why Turning Stone APPEARS to be taking over. My class of 2004 was the last to have the Saturday night banquet at the Rusty Rail restaurant in Canastota. It was small but it was great. In the early years, we used to climb over tables to get autographs, especially the first year when Ali and Walcott and Billy Conn and Floyd Patterson were there. The first year we had the memorabilia show in Graziano's Restaurant. There were about 10 or 12 of us who had tables with items to sell. It was more folksy back then and, to me, that's a good thing. I simply don't feel the energy at Turning Stone that we had at Canastota, but, again, I don't know the finances.

[STREET CLEANER]

The HOF is physically in the middle of nowhere. no idea why they picked remote upper new york. I thought about going there when I lived in the north east since it was "close" but "close" amounted to a 6-8 hour drive so that never happened.


It would be sad if they went bankrupt and shut down because it would be nice for a historical/ mueseum type organization to stay around. But boxing also has a lot of problems the main problems are the ABC orgs and their ****** ****.

Isnt IBF ready to strip Beterbiev? so the rematch wont be for 4 titles.

Yup. I have gone and when there are no events especially at night there is nothing to do. It is cool to go into the facility to look at the stuff they have there but they would benefit if they were in a big city like NYC or Vegas for example. They would have more traffic.

[billeau2]

Well... This is kind of a red herring of an issue. The real issue is the gravitas of boxing's HOF. Most real boxing fans don't take it seriously compared to ATG status. This is in contrast to baseball where the Hall of Fame really means something outstanding.

They just let in a lot of mediocre fighters and don't include a lot of very special fighters. I mean Gatti was a very special fighter in many respects but his ability?

[Plick647]

Pacquiao is about to fight professionally again, so, he should be taken off said list.

[pnut901]

Throw it all out and start over. It's lost the shine.