Chavez, Tyson, Tszyu - Are All Three Hall Of Fame Worthy?
By James Slater Some fans, upon reading the question posed in the title of this article will very possibly scream, “Of Course!” And it’s true, Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson and Kostya Tszyu, who are all on this year’s nomination list for The Hall Of Fame, were great fighters. The experts and writers now have to decide who to vote for with regards to the latest inclusions at Canastota (there are, reports Dan Rafael, 45 boxing legends on this year’s ballot list, including Naseem Hamed, Don Curry and Sven Ottke - neither of whom I would personally vote in, but that’s another story).
And it’s very likely the three big names listed above will get in..
Tyson of course deserves to be inducted due to his many accomplishments. The youngest ever heavyweight belt holder at just twenty-years-of-age, “Iron” Mike beat all-time greats Larry Holmes (albeit a faded one) and Michael Spinks, both by quick KO - and he also lit up the sport like few fighters ever did. Tyson’s a lock, no doubt.
Chavez, arguably the greatest Mexican fighter ever, also deserves to go in. A complete fighting machine in his long prime, “J.C Superstar” conquered three weight divisions and he beat good and great fighters like Meldrick Taylor (in one of the finest 140-pound title fights in history), Edwin Rosario, Jose Luis Ramirez, Hector Camacho, Roger Mayweather….. The list goes on and on. Like Tyson, Chavez eroded his legacy a little by carrying on for too long, eventually being stopped four times (unthinkable in his heyday!), but this will not stop the writers from seeing to it that The King from Culiacan goes into The Hall.
Some fans may look at Australia’s Tszyu as the single fighter of the three who may not quite deserve to get voted in. A very fine fighter in his day, Tszyu won the light-welterweight title in just his 14th fight (the IBF version) and went on to add the WBC and WBA versions during his long tenure as the best 140-pounder in the sport. And “The Thunder From Down Under,” who was actually born in Russia, managed wins over sensational fighters such as Rafael Ruelas, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, (a faded) Chavez and Zab Judah amongst others. However, what may hurt Tszyu’s chances are his losses, to Vince Phillips in the midst of his prime years, and to Ricky Hatton, when Kostya quit on his stool in his final fight.
Both losses were stoppage losses, and some voters may be at least slightly dissuaded from voting for him as a result. Neither Tyson nor Chavez lost in their prime.
All three excellent fighters will more than likely get voted into The Hall, and this is how it should be. But will all three be voted in unanimously?
By James Slater Some fans, upon reading the question posed in the title of this article will very possibly scream, “Of Course!” And it’s true, Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson and Kostya Tszyu, who are all on this year’s nomination list for The Hall Of Fame, were great fighters. The experts and writers now have to decide who to vote for with regards to the latest inclusions at Canastota (there are, reports Dan Rafael, 45 boxing legends on this year’s ballot list, including Naseem Hamed, Don Curry and Sven Ottke - neither of whom I would personally vote in, but that’s another story).
And it’s very likely the three big names listed above will get in..
Tyson of course deserves to be inducted due to his many accomplishments. The youngest ever heavyweight belt holder at just twenty-years-of-age, “Iron” Mike beat all-time greats Larry Holmes (albeit a faded one) and Michael Spinks, both by quick KO - and he also lit up the sport like few fighters ever did. Tyson’s a lock, no doubt.
Chavez, arguably the greatest Mexican fighter ever, also deserves to go in. A complete fighting machine in his long prime, “J.C Superstar” conquered three weight divisions and he beat good and great fighters like Meldrick Taylor (in one of the finest 140-pound title fights in history), Edwin Rosario, Jose Luis Ramirez, Hector Camacho, Roger Mayweather….. The list goes on and on. Like Tyson, Chavez eroded his legacy a little by carrying on for too long, eventually being stopped four times (unthinkable in his heyday!), but this will not stop the writers from seeing to it that The King from Culiacan goes into The Hall.
Some fans may look at Australia’s Tszyu as the single fighter of the three who may not quite deserve to get voted in. A very fine fighter in his day, Tszyu won the light-welterweight title in just his 14th fight (the IBF version) and went on to add the WBC and WBA versions during his long tenure as the best 140-pounder in the sport. And “The Thunder From Down Under,” who was actually born in Russia, managed wins over sensational fighters such as Rafael Ruelas, Miguel Angel Gonzalez, (a faded) Chavez and Zab Judah amongst others. However, what may hurt Tszyu’s chances are his losses, to Vince Phillips in the midst of his prime years, and to Ricky Hatton, when Kostya quit on his stool in his final fight.
Both losses were stoppage losses, and some voters may be at least slightly dissuaded from voting for him as a result. Neither Tyson nor Chavez lost in their prime.
All three excellent fighters will more than likely get voted into The Hall, and this is how it should be. But will all three be voted in unanimously?
