Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson, Hall of Famer?

[ReggieDiggs]

Does Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson deserve to be in the Boxing HOF?

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer

For those you might have missed this news the other day the inductees for the 2012 Boxing HOF were just announced.

Boxing Hall of Fame 2012 Class of Inductees Announced

(Canastota, NY – Dec. 6, 2011) The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the newest class of inductees to enter the Hall.

Living inductees include multi-division champion Thomas “Hitman” Hearns, two-division champion Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” ring announcer Michael Buffer, trainer Freddie Roach, broadcaster Al Bernstein and journalist Michael Katz.

“To me this is an amazing accomplishment,” said Hearns. “It makes me so happy to know that I made it after all these years and so many fights. I’m thrilled! Muhammad Ali is my idol. He’s the man that got me into the boxing business. It’s great that I will be on the Hall of Fame Wall with him.”

“This is wonderful! This is an awesome moment for me,” Johnson said of his induction. “The Hall of Fame is the biggest award that an athlete can receive. I strived my whole career to be in the Hall. I can’t say enough.”

“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2012 and very much looking forward to honoring the 23rd class of inductees,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.

“Oh my God. I’m so overwhelmed,” Buffer said. “I can barely speak. I’m instantly overwhelmed. When I think of all the great inductees, from legends from 100 years ago to so many great fighters and non-participants that are now being inducted, to be thought of in such great company is the greatest compliment I can receive in my career in boxing.”

“I couldn’t be more excited,” said Bernstein. “One of the unique qualities of the Boxing Hall of Fame is the fact that it places an importance on those of us who aren’t boxers but hopefully have added something to the sport.”

The 23rd Annual Hall of Fame Weekend is scheduled for June 7 to 10 in Canastota. More than 20 events, including a golf tournament, banquet, parade and autograph card show, are planned. A lineup of boxing greats of yesterday and today will attend this year’s Induction Weekend.

The highlight of the weekend will be the Official Enshrinement Ceremony on the Hall of Fame Museum Grounds on Sunday, June 10 to welcome the newest members.

The Hall of Fame also released names of posthumous honorees: Cocoa Kid in the Modern Category; Newsboy Brown, Leo Houck and Jake Kilrain in the Old-Timer Category; promoters Hugh D. McIntosh and Rip Valenti in the Non Participant Category; and James Wharton (Young Molineaux) in the Pioneer Category. Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association and a panel of international boxing historians.

For more information on the events planned for the 2012 International Boxing Hall of Fame Weekend, please call the Hall of Fame at (315) 697-7095, visit online at http://www.ibhof.com.

http://www.madisoncountycourier.com/201 ... announced/

[Tyson88]

too sharp was a very good boxer but HOF? - not sure about that. then again the difficulty of getting in has definitely softened up over the years

Too Sharp was a great fighter and the most dominant flyweight of his prime. He definitely deserves hall of fame status.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

He is deserving, though I wouldn't vote him in first ballot. Guys like Gushiken, Yuh, Laciar and Zapata shouldn't have to wait past guys like Johnson & Lopez.

[Lackeos]

Well he's 12-1 in title fights and a two-division champion. He has one key win over Fernando Montiel and a few lesser wins. I guess he gets into the hall of fame first ballot while we debate whether Cotto should make it at all (3-division champion, 4-time champion, 17-2 in title fights, probably the #3 ppv draw right now, and still adding-on to his accomplishments).

I dunno, if Mark Johnson qualifies for the HoF, then he's really right on the borderline.

[Lackeos]

Well he's 12-1 in title fights and a two-division champion. He has one key win over Fernando Montiel and a few lesser wins. I guess he gets into the hall of fame first ballot while we debate whether Cotto should make it at all (3-division champion, 4-time champion, 17-2 in title fights, probably the #3 ppv draw right now, and still adding-on to his accomplishments).

I dunno, if Mark Johnson qualifies for the HoF, then he's really right on the borderline.

the numbers man is here. glad u showed up

No problem. I'm sure you have very poor command over numbers, so I'm always glad to help.

[exittored]

Naseem Hamed dosen't get in but Johnson does? neither had a career defining win against another great but for sheer entertainment, impact and even calibre of his wins i'd definately of put Hamed ahead of too sharp.

[JCS]

Without analyzing too deeply, I say he should just miss. The cut-off has to be somewhere..

[Lackeos]

Naseem Hamed dosen't get in but Johnson does? neither had a career defining win against another great but for sheer entertainment, impact and even calibre of his wins i'd definately of put Hamed ahead of too sharp.

I agree. Hamed has been eligible for a handful of years and IMO is clearly more qualified for the hall of fame.

[d_franco]

too sharp will get my vote

[Gary Digital Williams]

There's NO QUESTION Johnson deserves to be in the hall of fame. The fact that writers called him the best flyweight of the 90's. The fact that people such as Danny Romero, Johnny Tapia, Yuri Arbachkov, Ricardo Lopez and Michael Carbajal avoided him like the plague. The fact that he dominated great flyweights like Arthur Johnson and Francisco Tejedor.

He was the best of his weight class. That's why he's in the hall!

[ReggieDiggs]

The fact that people such as Danny Romero, Johnny Tapia, Yuri Arbachkov, Ricardo Lopez and Michael Carbajal avoided him like the plague. The fact that he dominated great flyweights like Arthur Johnson and Francisco Tejedor.

Its so hard to tell the difference between people spitting sarcasm & the crazy people on this forum sometimes.

[Rover]

The fact that people such as Danny Romero, Johnny Tapia, Yuri Arbachkov, Ricardo Lopez and Michael Carbajal avoided him like the plague. The fact that he dominated great flyweights like Arthur Johnson and Francisco Tejedor.

Its so hard to tell the difference between people spitting sarcasm & the crazy people on this forum sometimes.

The charge that Carbajal, Lopez or Tapia ducked Johnson is nonsense. Carbajal never even fought at flyweight in a title fight! He was busy with his Chiquita rivalry through the end of 94. He then fought on for 5 more years but was past-prime. He won a light fly belt in 96, lost it in 97 (and then was TKO'd by Matlala), and then beat Arce to end his career.
Finito didn't even move up to light fly until he fought Grigsby in October 1999. By that time, Johnson was a super fly champ already.
As for Tapia, again, Johnson didn't move up to super fly until April of 1999, when Tapia'd already won a bantam belt.
Romero and Arbachukov certainly could be accused of ducking Johnson, especially Romero, as I believe Johnson was his mandatory.
The charge regarding the other three just isn't true.

[BigJuicyHog]

Yes he is.

[jujigatame]

I said no.

At 112, he won a vacant title against a lame opponent. Held it for 2 and a half years against mostly soft opposition. He was never the #1 guy in the division.

At 115, he won a vacant title against a decent opponent and defended it once. Then he lost to Marquez twice in his only 2 significant fights in a 4 year period. Then won a 2nd title at 115 in the biggest win of his career against Montiel. Then got blasted by Choko Hernandez in his 2nd defense.

Besides Montiel (who wasn't #1 at 115 either) I just don't see what big wins he had. At least from a modern perspective on the value of alphabet belts, it doesn't seem like he had that huge of a career.

[jujigatame]

Oh and I think claims of "best flyweight of the 90s" are a bit overblown when Yuri Arbachkov was undefeated linear champ from 1992-1997.

[clubberlang]

If Hamed can’t get in then Johnson defiantly shouldn’t. I liked “too sharp” and yeah he was ranked in many pound for pound lists for a time but come on his resume is paper thin, just look at the five best fighters he beat Alberto Jimenez, Francisco Tejedor, Arthur Johnson, Fernando Montiel & Ratanachai Singwancha; if Johnson was Korean he would never come close to the Hall.

[Chuck1052]

If Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson was a heavyweight with such skills and credentials, I don't think there would be any compliants. Of course, Johnson should be a Hall of Famer.

- Chuck Johnston

[jujigatame]

If Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson was a heavyweight with such skills and credentials, I don't think there would be any compliants. Of course, Johnson should be a Hall of Famer.

- Chuck Johnston

Actually to the contrary, I think there would be massive complaints. A 3-time alphabet belt holder who never unified or held a belt for more than a couple of years? Tim Witherspoon is a HW with a similar (I would argue better) resume who is not in the HOF.

[jujigatame]

If they wanted to induct a superfly, why not Gilberto Roman who twice took belts from legit champs and had a combined 11 defenses against some very tough opposition? Or Santos Laciar who was a 3-time champ who went like 6 years without losing in his prime?

The HOF is a joke. They're more concerned with inducting people that will show up to their inductee weekend and draw a crowd than actually inducting deserving candidates.

[JCS]

There are boxers in that are less deserved than Johnson, so seeing as who they have been accepting into the HOF, yes he is deserving.

Mistakes and bad decisions should be learned from, not repeated.

[Goodnight, Irene]

I voted no.

On ability, yes, hes there, but his career doesnt warrant it. Yes, he was blatantly avoided (not by Lopez), but he just doesnt have the CV for the HOF.

First-ballot? Thats a joke, and so is the Hall.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

What is the criteria used for inducting a boxer into the HOF?

These days you need to be a visible fighter that the bloggers and fans who vote are familiar with. Not much more than that. So you see Johnson get in over a guy like Laciar who is way more accomplished because a guy like Dan Rafael wants to give credit to a lighter weight fighter to look hard core, but his historical knowledge is severely lacking.

I read Dan say Kostya was a definitive top 5 Jr. Welter. That's madness to even contemplate.

[Baby Face Finster]

If Ken Norton is in then you can't deny Too Sharp a spot.

[Goodnight, Irene]

If Ken Norton is in then you can't deny Too Sharp a spot.

Frankly, terrible logic.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Worst argument I've ever heard until Gatti gets in, that is going to be incredible reading how a guy who can't touch Boza-Edwards deserves to be in the HOF because he was the only warrior the sport has ever seen.