THE International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its latest inductees this week and to no-one’s great surprise there was another odd, America-centric pick by the largely American voting panel.
In the modern category, Manny Pacquiao was a lock, Michael Nunn less so, but Vinny Pazienza’s induction was the now-annual IBHOF eyebrow raiser where international standouts seem to remain out of sight and out of mind. It seems many of those voting may have a limited grasp of boxing outside the American goldfish bowl.
Drop the word International and these awards look a far more reasonable concept – an annual event catering for an American audience who grew up watching Shawn Porter fight. But that word ‘International’ sticks in the craw. It is highly misleading when overseas legends are excluded on an annual basis.
In recent times, Buddy McGirt, Arturo Gatti and now ‘The Pazmananian Devil’ have been inducted ahead of demonstrably more deserving inductees overseas.
Two-weight champion Pazienza is likeable, popular and has one of boxing’s great comeback stories after recovering from a broken neck in head-on car crash to win the WBA 154lbs belt. But he never made a successful title defence and was 2-6 in world championship fights. Beating Greg Haugen, Gilbert Dele and the 43-year-old shell of Roberto Duran was deemed enough for greatness here. A great guy but, on pure boxing achievement, he doesn’t belong at the fight game’s top table.
Of course, Pazienza’s story was retold in a big budget Hollywood movie with the popular Miles Teller in the starring role. This seems to have curried favour with the ‘casual boxing media’ voting. I half expect Jack Gyllenhaal to be inducted for his career in the movie ‘Southpaw’. Let’s get Adrien Broner in next, he’ll liven up Canastota.
Pazienza has actively petitioned for entry to the IBHOF for many years but the recognition of a Hollywood movie was already enough.
Compare Pazienza’s 2-6 championship record to our own two-weight champs Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank – 11-4-1 and 17-5-2 in world title fights. Ireland’s 160lbs and 168lbs champ Steve Collins, who beat both Benn and Eubank twice, isn’t even on the ballot. The trailblazing Brendan Ingle remains, maddeningly, unrecognised, too, in the non-participant category.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s two-time WBC flyweight king Pongsaklek Wonjongkam was 22-3-2 in world title fights; one of the all-time great super-flyweights, Gilberto Roman (9-3-1 in world title fights) was overlooked again; Italy’s Sumbu Kalambay who beat Collins, Mike McCallum and Iran Barkley never makes the ballot. Yet Nunn’s shock KO of Kalambay is, perversely, the major reason for his induction. The list goes on.
There is a pretty sizeable line formed ahead of Pazienza in the queue for greatness but many of them were born in the wrong place at the wrong time.
ISRAEL VÁZQUEZ 1977-2024
THE excellent Mexican Israel Vázquez passed away on December 2 after a battle with cancer. He was just 46 and is survived by a wife and three children. The thoughts of Boxing News are with Israel’s family and friends at this terribly sad time.
A three-time world champion at 122lbs, ‘El Magnifico’ fought and beat the elite but is best known for his memorable four-fight series with compatriot Rafael Marquez (2-2) where styles meshed perfectly in a truly thrilling rivalry.
On his rise, Mexico City’s Vázquez (44-5, 32 KOs) held the edge in a trilogy with WBC king Oscar Larios and defeated a wealth of talent in the lower weights including Ivan Hernandez and Jhonny Gonzalez, where he rose from two knockdowns to triumph via 10th-round TKO.
Heavy-handed, game and fearless beyond measure, Vázquez lost his first encounter with Marquez, brother of Juan Manuel, with a broken nose (l tko 7) in March 2007 but in his inimitable style regained the crown four months later (w ko 6) in the fight of the year. In March 2008, Vázquez won a split decision after a breathless last-round rally, where he scored a crucial knockdown in the last five seconds in the consensus 2008 fight of the year.
The wear and tear of these outlandish battles took a heavy toll on both men with Vázquez eventually forfeiting his WBC crown due to a detached retina. Financial difficulties brought him back, beyond his best, with Marquez winning their fourth encounter in three rounds in May 2010.
In retirement, Vázquez required seven surgeries in that troublesome eye until it was replaced with a prosthetic in 2016 and latterly suffered illness. But he remained a much-loved figure on the Southern California fight scene and briefly ran the eponymous Magnifico Boxing Gym.
Vázquez told the Los Angeles Times that his parents were the foundation of his success; his dad via “hard teachings” and his mother, “the love of his life”, through kindness.
His legacy in boxing will be everlasting.
