Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑26 Apr 2020, 17:24
mjaco wrote: ↑25 Apr 2020, 20:39
I'll bite, which three? Depends on what we're calling a "great" win I suppose.
Willard, Braddock, and he who shall not be named. If you really pushed it, I guess you count Willard's and Braddock's title victories. They certainly don't equal Douglas beating Tyson. Braddock's and Willard's best other wins aren't as good as Douglas' best other wins either.
As I said, I suppose it depends on your definition of a "great" win. Willard and Braddock's title wins, by some standards (not necessarily mine) would go down as great wins. On the other hand, if you want to nitpick, you could argue the Ali that Norton beat in the 1970s was not the same Ali of the 1960s so that wasn't a "great" win. You could even argue the Tyson who lost to Douglas was not the same Tyson we saw just one year earlier. That just underscores my point that, in any sport, you can not base a judgment of career "greatness" on a single performance. There are always fighters, and athletes of all types, who had a single moment when it all came together for them and they had one great night. That does not mean they were great fighters or had great careers. Greatness, at least to me, has to include some measure of longevity.
Also, people seem to be conflating the word "fame" in the title "hall of fame" with the actual purpose of any hall of fame. Take a look at the IBHOF mission statement and it clearly says its mission is to "chronicle the achievements of those who excelled..." I take that to mean fighters who achieved a certain level of excellence, not just those who garnered a bit of notoriety. If you were just to base admission on "fame" fighters like Butterbean and Two-Ton Tony Galento would be under consideration. So there has to be a certain base level of excellence for admission. The problem is that the IBHOF has already set a precedent of placing that bar a little low in many estimations, thus allowing fighters like Douglas into the debate.
The Boxrec hall of fame is, at least to my way of thinking, a far better standard for greatness and more in line with what a hall of fame should be (BTW is voting for that going to open up again this year, Ambling Alp? I asked this question in the Boxrec HOF thread but never got a response). However, I understand the reasons why the IBHOF has gone the way they have. They're trying to keep their doors open and they need people to show up there. Their induction weekend is the one time of the year they draw a decent crowd and if there was only a single fighter being inducted, one who's been dead for 60 years, they simply wouldn't get anyone to come. Still, as a purist I'd like to see more exclusivity. But it's not going to happen.
