Carl Froch, Timothy Bradley headline '23 Hall of Fame class

[Ruthless-RKO]

Timothy Bradley, Carl Froch headline '23 Hall of Fame class

Timothy Bradley Jr., the two-division champion who defeated Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, will join those fighters in the International Boxing Hall of Fame when the Class of 2023 is inducted next summer, it was announced Wednesday.

Carl Froch, who faced a who's who of the super middleweight division during his championship reign, and Rafael Marquez, who combined with Israel Vasquez for one of boxing's greatest rivalries, will be inducted alongside Bradley on June 11 in Canastota, New York.

The three modern-era men's inductees (last bout no earlier than 1989) will be accompanied by Alicia Ashley and Laura Serrano in the women's modern category.

Trainer Joe Goossen, Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman and Top Rank COO Brad Jacobs were elected in the non-participant category. Former HBO Sports president Seth Abraham and broadcaster Tim Ryan were elected in the observer category.

Posthumous inductees include Tiger Jack Fox and Pone Kingpetch in the old timer category and JoAnn Hagen in the women's trailblazer category.

Bradley, who hails from Palm Springs, California, won his first title in 2008 with a road victory over Junior Witter in England. He went on to unify junior welterweight belts with a win over Kendall Holt and later stopped Devon Alexander to again unify titles in a 140-pound summit meeting.

"Desert Storm" scored a controversial decision victory over Pacquiao in 2012 to capture a welterweight title before he was defeated by the all-time great in two subsequent bouts. Bradley's win over Ruslan Provodnikov was named the 2013 Fight of the Year and later that year, he delivered a career-best performance with a decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez, the older brother of Rafael Marquez.

Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs) was trained by Teddy Atlas for his final three fights and joins his coach in the Hall of Fame.

"This is one of the greatest days of my life," said Bradley, who has served as a boxing analyst for ESPN since 2016. " ... This is everything I wanted and everything I worked for. I'm full of emotions and there are so many things going through my mind from my past that got me to this point. This is a dream come true. This is my heaven, the International Boxing Hall of Fame."

Froch boasts one of the best resumes of the past 15 years in an era when the best often don't fight the best. "The Cobra" won his first title with a thrilling decision win over Jean Pascal in 2008 and followed up with a come-from-behind 12th-round TKO of Jermain Taylor to retain the super middleweight belt.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Well Done to Carl Froch.

[Ruthless-RKO]

COMMENTS UPON RECEIVING INDUCTION NEWS

“This is one of the greatest days of my life. I appreciate this so much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m ecstatic and don’t really know what to say. This is everything I wanted and everything I worked for. I’m full of emotions and there are so many things going through my mind from my past that got me to this point. This is a dream come true. This is my heaven, the International Boxing Hall of Fame.” - Timothy Bradley Jr.

“Brilliant! This is amazing, great news! It’s amazing to be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside so many legends of the sport. Boxing is the best sport in the world. It tests everything in a man and a woman. The mentality, discipline, grit, determination, heart, desire, everything is all in that ring and it is just you on your own with your opponent. For me to be inducted with the greatest of all time from every weight division is just fantastic! I’m grateful to be recognized.” - Carl Froch

“Perfect! Thank you very much. I don’t have the words to describe how I feel receiving this great news. I am very happy. It is a great honor to be in the Hall of Fame and I am very proud to be in Canastota with the greatest boxers of all time.” - Rafael Marquez

“OMG! It is such an honor to be among the history of boxing and being there with the females that I absolutely admire as well. I’m totally ecstatic and speechless.” - Alicia Ashley

“Oh my goodness! This is exciting news. I dedicated my whole life to boxing and I did my best in those days when it was very difficult for women to fight especially in my country of Mexico, where I fought for women’s rights. I’m so happy. I’m thankful for all of the members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame." - Laura Serrano

“Oh my God! It’s the greatest news I’ve heard and it means the world to me. My goal and what I’ve worked for is to build champions and, to me, to be elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for this work is the biggest honor.” - Brad Goodman

“I’ve got to tell you, I’m absolutely stunned. To think I’ll be in the Hall of Fame with my brother Dan is probably the best thing I’ve heard since he died. When I got into the sport back in 1970, I would have never thought in ten million years that I would really make a mark and eventually end up in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I’m shocked and honored.” - Joe Goossen

“This is terrific news! I’ve been in this business my entire professional life and it is just an incredible honor to be voted in by my peers for the years I’ve spent in the business and hopefully with many more to come. It is a crazy business, but I wouldn’t have it any other way." - Brad Jacobs

“This is a great honor, but the accolade really belongs to HBO SPORTS. I have always believed that HBO's undisputed crown as 'The Network of Champions' was earned by many. And many are deservedly in the Hall of Fame. Larry Merchant, Jim Lampley, Lou DiBella, George Foreman, Emanuel Steward, Harold Lederman, Roy Jones Jr., Lennox Lewis, Sugar Ray Leonard, Bert Sugar. I hope in the years ahead other deserving HBOers join this esteemed company. For now, I am thrilled to be in this fabled House of ‘The Sweet Science.’” - Seth Abraham

“Thank you so much. This is a real thrill for me to join Gil Clancy in the Hall of Fame. And I’m glad that the sport of boxing still has worldwide popularity as it did during my tenure with Gil. All sports change – some for better and some for not – and I think boxing is on the right track by taking care of its athletes with more attention to safety and governance. Everybody that loves it and appreciates the sport is doing their part.” - Tim Ryan

[maverick23]

I’m a bit disappointed Froch didn’t mention 80,000 fans in his comments.

[jameswilson]

I’m a bit disappointed Froch didn’t mention 80,000 fans in his comments.

The forum would have been in melt down had he done it.

[Bigdogsnose]

Who are the other 4?

Calzaghe? Lewis? Buchanan? Mcguigan?

[orbtastic]

Other 4 British fighters?

As far as I recall so far it's:

Fitz
Kid Lewis
Wilde
Berg
Lynch

Buchanan
Calzage
Lewis
Hamed

There's a few Irish guys in who were clearly Irish or born in Ireland

Good to see Froch in, he definitely deserves it. So does Rafa, talk about a hard career for both.

Their bias has been historically American, it's good they are inducting more non Americans in.

[THEBUTCH]

Well deserved, but 'eff me his head is going quadruple in size !

[big lennox]

Definitely deserves to be in there. A Stella career, took on the best consistently (not a Chisora III on his resume) and performed to the highest levels. Delivered under pressure, too.

[whiskey]

Froch brought it every single time.

A proper body of work for eternity, in a stacked division.

We’ll not see his likes again.

[Flump]

Well deserved and congratulations to the guy, he must be thrilled.

[stujones]

All three worthy of it - I would have liked to have seen Marquez and Vasquez inducted together - although Vasquez's career is probably shy of the HoF

I still think for an INTERNATIONAL boxing hall of fame, Sven Ottke deserves a place - what he did for the sport in Germany should not go unnoticed.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[polecateddy]

Out of interest, have many German boxers gone in like Maske and Ottke? Good German efficiency but perhaps not loved on the world stage.

[Counter-puncher]

i may well watch the Marquez - Vazquez trilogy tonight in tribute

[KiwiRider]

I’m a bit disappointed Froch didn’t mention 80,000 fans in his comments.

The forum would have been in melt down had he done it.

Whoop! Whoop!
He shoulda done it..

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Carl Froch reacts to being inducted into the Hall of Fame in classic Carl Froch fashion and is congratulated by George Groves

The playfully arrogant ‘Cobra’, who regularly boasts about having sold out Wembley Stadium in the final fight of his career, took to Instagram to celebrate.

“How are you doing guys,” Froch began, “Some news dropped yesterday.

“Most of you already know but I just wanted to make it official and say a personal thanks to my fans and supporters.

“I am now being officially inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

“Wow, just saying that actually sounds unbelievable… I am truly humbled.

“So, just think you have never got to listen to me bang on about how many fans were at Wembley Stadium ever again.

“Because I can now tell you about the time when I got inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”

[Nightmare Roy]

I’m a bit disappointed Froch didn’t mention 80,000 fans in his comments.

I was just about to say the same, obviously it means a lot to him and fair play, he fought a who's who of killers.

[Counter-puncher]

“So, just think you have never got to listen to me bang on about how many fans were at Wembley Stadium ever again.

“Because I can now tell you about the time when I got inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”

hahaha, well played

[Counter-puncher]

Groves comes across really well to me, I like the bloke

[Ruthless-RKO]

Carl Froch attributes Mikkel Kessler loss to volcanic ash cloud

Froch has explained away one of his two losses as the Nottingham man took the first ‘L’ of his career against the ‘Great Dane.’

Heading to Kessler’s native country in April 2010, there were major doubts about the fight taking place due to a volcanic ash cloud hovering over Iceland from Eyjafjallajökull.

Froch was initially told the fight was off and then back on again. Flying through eruption was almost as daunting as facing Kessler in his backyard.

Those two factors, coupled with a blip during training due to his belief the contest wouldn’t go ahead, all attributed to Froch’s downfall.

Carl Froch

He explained on ‘The Rounds’ – a new Matchroom Boxing series with Carl Froch alongside Darren Barker, what went down during that period of his career.

“On Tuesday of fight week, we had Sky News on, and they said all the flights we grounded. So I am thinking I am definitely not going,” said Froch. “The US broadcasters aren’t going to be able to make it over, so it’s definitely off.

“We had a barbecue in the garden. I had a couple of cans of Guinness. I don’t drink much, and I had a couple of them in fight week!

“The next day, my promoter rang me and said that the Sauerland’s were sending a private jet and the flight was at 2 pm.

“A private jet sounds glamorous, but it wasn’t. It was a five-seater, and it was bumpy all the way. Rob [McCracken, trainer] doesn’t like heights, so he was white all the way and didn’t say a word. He was hanging onto the seat and looking at me.

“I was winding him up saying, ‘I think we are bang in trouble here. This plane is all over the place!'”

FROCH vs KESSLER

Upon arrival in Herning, Froch had a slight hitch with his weight but said it didn’t have a lasting effect during the contest.

“I crashed the weight, which I never do. At the weigh-in, I felt weak. It’s the first and only time I ever did that,” he pointed out. “I don’t want people to think I’m making an excuse.

“I felt good to fight and had a great twelve rounds against a brilliant fighter, and I just didn’t quite do enough.”

In addition to those two significant happenings, though, with just days to go, it made a big difference in his final preparations for Kessler.

“Going over on the Wednesday under that ash cloud in fight week and being overweight, switching off, it was horrible.

“I believe that things happen for a reason, though. In boxing, you don’t win or lose. You win or learn.

“I learned how to come back. In my next fight, I fought Arthur Abraham. The WBC title was back up for grabs. That boosted my spirits, and that loss didn’t feel as bad.”

[Steveh583]

Carl Froch attributes Mikkel Kessler loss to volcanic ash cloud

Froch has explained away one of his two losses as the Nottingham man took the first ‘L’ of his career against the ‘Great Dane.’

Heading to Kessler’s native country in April 2010, there were major doubts about the fight taking place due to a volcanic ash cloud hovering over Iceland from Eyjafjallajökull.

Froch was initially told the fight was off and then back on again. Flying through eruption was almost as daunting as facing Kessler in his backyard.

Those two factors, coupled with a blip during training due to his belief the contest wouldn’t go ahead, all attributed to Froch’s downfall.

Carl Froch

He explained on ‘The Rounds’ – a new Matchroom Boxing series with Carl Froch alongside Darren Barker, what went down during that period of his career.

“On Tuesday of fight week, we had Sky News on, and they said all the flights we grounded. So I am thinking I am definitely not going,” said Froch. “The US broadcasters aren’t going to be able to make it over, so it’s definitely off.

“We had a barbecue in the garden. I had a couple of cans of Guinness. I don’t drink much, and I had a couple of them in fight week!

“The next day, my promoter rang me and said that the Sauerland’s were sending a private jet and the flight was at 2 pm.

“A private jet sounds glamorous, but it wasn’t. It was a five-seater, and it was bumpy all the way. Rob [McCracken, trainer] doesn’t like heights, so he was white all the way and didn’t say a word. He was hanging onto the seat and looking at me.

“I was winding him up saying, ‘I think we are bang in trouble here. This plane is all over the place!'”

FROCH vs KESSLER

Upon arrival in Herning, Froch had a slight hitch with his weight but said it didn’t have a lasting effect during the contest.

“I crashed the weight, which I never do. At the weigh-in, I felt weak. It’s the first and only time I ever did that,” he pointed out. “I don’t want people to think I’m making an excuse.

“I felt good to fight and had a great twelve rounds against a brilliant fighter, and I just didn’t quite do enough.”

In addition to those two significant happenings, though, with just days to go, it made a big difference in his final preparations for Kessler.

“Going over on the Wednesday under that ash cloud in fight week and being overweight, switching off, it was horrible.

“I believe that things happen for a reason, though. In boxing, you don’t win or lose. You win or learn.

“I learned how to come back. In my next fight, I fought Arthur Abraham. The WBC title was back up for grabs. That boosted my spirits, and that loss didn’t feel as bad.”

It’s a fair enough comment tbh. I remember at the time him getting praised for not pulling out when many many fighters would have. And he did alright too. Cracking scrap, I may rewatch it.