CANASTOTA, New York — They call Canastota the hometown of boxing. And like a summer block party in a small town that attracts natives who moved away, the greats of boxing’s past have returned for the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s annual induction weekend, which runs from June 5 to June 8.
This year’s modern inductees are Manny Pacquiao, one of the most decorated and popular fighters of the 21st century, as well as “The Pazmanian Devil” himself, Vinny Pazienza, and Michael “Second to” Nunn.
Though the rain didn’t abate from the morning’s ringside talks through the afternoon, there were still plenty of fans seeking shelter under the amphitheater’s roof to listen to the ringside talks. Many of the Hall’s staples of years past, like Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello and Marvin Hagler have passed, but boxing fans still travel from all over the United States and beyond to connect with their favorite fighters. Among those who were on the Hall of Fame grounds on Friday afternoon were Christy Martin, a 2020 inductee who set the foundation for women’s boxing being taken seriously as a sport, plus 90s heavyweight star “Merciless” Ray Mercer, as well as Nunn. Mark Kriegel, boxing writer and broadcaster, answered questions on stage about his latest book on Mike Tyson, The Baddest Man.
While some bemoan that Hall of Fame weekend hasn’t been the same since the Graziano’s Italian Restaurant, the spot for fighters and fans to mingle, was closed in 2021, boxing historian Lee Groves says the spirit of the event remains.
“The routines here are similar. The golf tournament is not here anymore, but the process of the weekend is the same but the cast of characters change. New Hall of Famers, new celebrities, so that adds an element of freshness to it,” said Groves, who has been to every Hall of Fame weekend since 1993, save for 2020 and 2021 when induction weekend was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nunn, who fought from 1984-2002, winning the IBF middleweight and the WBA super middleweight titles, expressed his happiness with getting to spend time with many of his contemporaries, some of whom he had fought. He says that meeting up after their fighting days is very different from doing so during their primes.
“It makes you feel good. Like damn, we tried to kill each other but now we’re the best of friends. That’s the camaraderie of boxing,” said Nunn, who counts former opponents “Iceman” John Scully, Herol Graham, James Toney, Marlon Starling and Iran Barkley among his friends these days.
“You gotta have respect because when you’re doing something with competition, we don’t really get the chance to meet and be open with the guys because it’s competition and everybody wants to be the best. That’s everybody’s mindset, but after the fight days we can sit down, play golf with them, if you come to their city, you go eat with them, hang out with them. Fighting is about business, but after the business, you’ll be friends.”
The 62-year-old Nunn, whose record was 58-4 (38 KOs), recalled one of his most memorable battles, his 1989 majority decision win over Barkley, calling it his version of of a Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier battle. He says that, while both fighters made the 160lbs limit, he admits he was intimidated by how big and muscular Barkley appeared on fight night.
“That was one of my toughest fights, a 12-round get down. He really brought out the best. He hit me so hard in the second round, I went back to the corner and I wanted to tell them, ‘Give me my million dollars, I’m going home,’” remembered Nunn.
Pazienza, who prefers to be called Vinny Paz these days (“My slave name is Pazienza”), has long been the life of the party at Hall of Fame induction weekends in the past. This visit is obviously more special to the former lightweight and junior middleweight titleholder from Rhode Island, as his activities this year won’t be limited to signing autographs in a tent.
“Do you all wanna know why I’m really getting inducted today?,” Paz said on the microphone as he waited to get his fist casted in plaster.
“It’s because I said to [IBHOF Executive Director Ed Brophy]…I whispered in his ear, Ed, ‘I’m gonna fucking kill you if you don’t put me in.’ And now I’m here, see! Sometimes you gotta get a little fucking crazy,” said Pazienza, 50-10 (30 KOs), before reminding anyone who didn’t pick up on his sense of humor that he was joking.
James “Smitty” Smith, who emceed many of the proceedings, made sure to double down on the point. “The real reason is because he was finally voted in. The voters got smart,” said Smith.
It isn’t hard to figure out that Paz is among the honorees this year, as a bus that reads “UFC congratulates Vinny Paz” has been parked in front of the Hall of Fame grounds since the ceremonies began. Pazienza says the bus was a surprise from Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, a fellow New Englander who cites Paz as his favorite boxer.
““I just find it amazing, it’s love, it’s friendship, it’s amusement. I feel like I’m lucky to have these people wanting my autograph. Who the hell wants anybody’s autograph?” said Pazienza.
While Paz was in his typical jovial mood, sincere emotion overcame him as he recounted some of his proudest moments in the ring. Tears began to flood his darkened glasses as he seemed to relive the moment he beat the odds and came back from suffering a broken neck in November of 1991, returning to the ring 13 months later in December of 1992.
“When I broke my neck and I came back, I was blessed with a capital ‘B.’ It was amazing. I’m lucky,” said Pazienza.
The main event, so to speak, of Friday’s festivities was the fist casting, where the fighters who are being inducted place their dominant hand in plaster and a mold is produced. Anne Sophie Mathis, the French knockout puncher who is best remembered for her seventh round KO of Holly Holm in 2011, plus Mexico’s Yesica Chavez, Mary Jo Sanders, as well as Nunn and Paz, were on stage for the casting.
The fighter who is expected to draw the biggest crowd was the only one who hadn’t yet arrived: Manny Pacquiao, by far the most famous athlete to be enshrined since his rival Floyd Mayweather Jnr got his day in Canastota in 2022. Pacquiao, who recently announced he was coming back to the ring for a July 19 fight against WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios. He is seeking to become one of the oldest boxing champions in history, but also the first to win a world title after his induction.
MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons tells BoxingScene that Pacquiao is expected to make an appearance at Saturday’s Banquet of Champions at nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Trainer Freddie Roach, himself a 2012 inductee, posted a photo of himself and Pacquiao aboard a chartered jet out of Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, signaling that the team was en route to upstate New York.
In a sport that doesn’t celebrate its legends nearly as frequently as baseball and football do, Hall of Fame weekend gives fighters a chance to get at least one more standing ovation. In Canastota, at least, the cheers echo on.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for krikya360.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at .