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were being left wide open. Critics have argued in recent years that the doors have become too wide, to the point where a fighter’s main qualification is that he’s simply alive and will stand upright at the podium on induction day. His presence, if he hasn’t been retired for too long and people still remember him, will conceivably draw some fans to Canastota on the big induction weekend. It’s a business after all. This brings us to Gennadiy Golovkin. A bright star of recent times, Golovkin is part of the 2026 IBHOF class, a first-ballot inductee. His 16-year career included a decade as the world’s dominant middleweight. He picked up three of the four major world titles along the way, and from November 2008 to March 2017 he scored 23 consecutive knockouts. Though some will say he tied Bernard Hopkins’ record of 20 consecutive title defenses at middleweight, The Ring, in its effort to make sense of boxing’s fractured system, only credits Golovkin with 15 (he held the WBA’s secondary title for the other five), which is still considerable and good for second place. He finished with a sterling record of 42- 2-1 with 37 knockouts. Yet Golovkin’s induction, though generally appreciated by fandom and the press alike, met with some dissenting feedback that temporarily soured the mood. A vocal minority posed a question that has been asked of boxers since the days of the Pabst Blue Ribbon fights. Basically, “Who’d he ever beat?” Rudely, Golovkin became the latest poster boy for those who feel the IBHOF is too lax in its way of honoring fighters. Such thinking is unfortunate. Here’s a fighter who made more total middleweight title defenses than Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Carlos Monzon, Mickey Walker, Robinson and every other middleweight titleholder in history aside from Hopkins. We aren’t likely to see such dominance in the future, since fighters tend to add pounds in search of paydays rather than establish a stronghold in one weight class.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Golovkin story was that he was inducted during his first year of eligibility. The other two modern male fighters sharing the stage with him this year, Nigel Benn and Antonio Tarver, had to wait a while since their retirements – approximately 30 and 11 years, respectively. Golovkin was only retired for the Hall’s minimum requirement of three years. He probably still looks like an ex-singer in a Karaganda boy band. Maybe Golovkin’s quick induction partly inspired the bit of backlash he received. First-year inductions are usually reserved for our most exalted superstars, and maybe for some, Golovkin didn’t fit that image. Ryan Garcia, whose hobby seems to be trashing fighters he’ll never have to fight, led the charge by saying that Golovkin “had no really great victories” and didn’t deserve to be inducted. This was on The Ring’s Inside The Ring show, where Garcia went on to say, “It’s a little hard for me to put someone like Golovkin in the Hall of Fame.” Garcia’s comment may have stemmed from his own insecurities, but there were some who thought his point was worth considering. Golovkin may not have beaten any great fighters, but he beat some very good ones, including Daniel Jacobs, Kell Brook and David Lemieux. There was also a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko, a fight of the year candidate. Other names on his record include Matthew Macklin, Martin Murray, Ryota Murata and Marco Antonio Rubio. Granted, those aren’t household names, but it’s not as if Golovkin avoided opponents. He fought the contenders who were there at the time. Of course, some are still grousing that Golovkin didn’t fight super middleweight champion Andre Ward when the idea was broached in 2015. But Golovkin’s goal was the undisputed middleweight championship, and he had a unification bout on deck with Lemieux. Plus, when his camp explained that Ward had limited mainstream appeal and a dullish style, they weren’t
David Lemieux surrendered the IBF middleweight title to Golovkin.
Does that qualify Golovkin for the Hall? On this writer’s ballot, it most certainly does. The snooty reaction from some is perplexing. Along with his aforementioned success, Golovkin was always an admirable representative of the sport. Frankly, without naming names, there are many fighters in Canastota whose achievements pale next to his. So why the beef from detractors? The Hall of Fame voting process is rather simple. Boxing writers who are
eligible to vote, which I am, receive a packet in the mail each year. The bundle includes a typewritten list of names from which we’re invited to make our selections. According to IBHOF rules, the top three vote-getters are inducted, and a fighter who receives 80 percent or more of the total votes cast will “automatically gain enshrinement.” I usually limit my votes to one or two fighters. Sometimes I take voting very seriously and give it some thought. Other years, well, life gets in the way and I just quickly check off a few names and return the list to Canastota.
By December, when the new class is announced, I am often amused to see fighters I’d ignored get in. Conversely, some fighters I chose don’t make the cut. Although I shouldn’t speak for all voters, I would guess they don’t take a careful, systematic approach to any of this. They vote for fighters they like. They vote for names that easily jump out at them. Maybe some voters are more methodical. I don’t know. Some names on the ballot genuinely surprise me, names I haven’t thought about in years. I suspect those fighters don’t get much love from the voters.
I’m also certain that personal issues come into play. If a fighter on the list treated you badly or wouldn’t give you an interview, but another fighter on the list was nice to you, well, you know which box you’ll tick. It’s an inexact science, this voting. Somehow, Vinny Paz gets in. Izzy Vazquez doesn’t. There’s a plaque for Jim Braddock, but not Buster Douglas. Go figure.
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