Why Did Freakin Barry McGuigan make it to the HOF?

[Sister Sledge]

Barry was a good fighter, but he did nothing to warrant a spot in the the Hall of Fame. He beat an old champion and Juan Laporte, thats pretty much it. Does anyone think he deserves such high accolades? I don't.

[China_hand_Joe]

Stuff to do with Ireland -fullstop-

[Carlos Primera]

i read in a past issue of the ring that the hof inducts guys like mcguigan, ingemar johannson et al. because the hof needs to pay bills. i think that by adding more 'recognizable' names to it, the hof brings in more revenue by attracting more people to the induction ceremonies and such.

[Joe Gans]

Juan LaPorte has far better credentials than McGuigan. He fought some legends, Sanchez, Chavez, Gomez, Pedroza, Nelson and was champion himself for a few years. How & why McGuigan enters the HOF ? Perhaps he has a nice smile.

[kirk]

thats exactly what im talking about... do people actually REALISE the fighters that get into the HOF? then they wonder why i say fighters like Fernando Vargas should... its because imo the standard to actually GETTING into the HOF is lower then whats in their heads.

[bumdujour]

mcguigan was solid but nothing special. maybe he blew a guy on the board to get in. this aint right.

[tays001]

this is the reason why we need to make an ESB HOF FOR FIGHTERS THAT TRULY DESERVE IT ( AS WELL AS POSTER). ::-(

SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY THINK GATTI SHOULD BE INDUCTED::patsch :-(

[nervousxtian]

Gatti should be.

[tays001]

Gatti should be.

SLAPP YOUR:patsch SELF

[Motor City Sam]

I don't know how Barry got in, but he has become the justification that everyone now uses when pushing for an undeserving or borderline fighter: "Well, if Barry got in _______ should be in there, too."

[warchild]

Does "Leave the fighting to Barry." sound familiar?

McGuigan was inducted to the IBHOF based largely on the political climate that existed during his career, and the fact that his success was something that, to an extent, brought both sides of the issue together in the name of national pride.

So there's more to the story than just statistics.

Having said that....

Brian Mitchell of South Africa traveled the world defending his title in protest of the concept of aparthied, which was the cause of the turmoil which existed in his home country at the time. Mitchell also had an excellent career, defending the WBA junior lightweight title many times, winning the IBF title in a unification match, and defeating every fighter who he faced.

Mitchell's career may not have had the political impact that McGugian's did, but if McGuigan is in the IBHOF, Mitchell should be too.

[tays001]

Does "Leave the fighting to Barry." sound familiar?

McGuigan was inducted to the IBHOF based largely on the political climate that existed during his career, and the fact that his success was something that, to an extent, brought both sides of the issue together in the name of national pride.

So there's more to the story than just statistics.

Having said that....

Brian Mitchell of South Africa traveled the world defending his title in protest of the concept of aparthied, which was the cause of the turmoil which existed in his home country at the time. Mitchell also had an excellent career, defending the WBA junior lightweight title many times, winning the IBF title in a unification match, and defeating every fighter who he faced.

Mitchell's career may not have had the political impact that McGugian's did, but if McGuigan is in the IBHOF, Mitchell should be too.

:-( :-( :-( :nut

[MilesP]

Why Did Freakin Barry McGuigan make it to the HOF?


maybe because he's whiter than Conan O'Brien..

[Amsterdam]

Gatti should be.

IBHOF loses all credibility when that happens.

[heerko koois]

What about steve Cruz ?

[warchild]

:-( :-( :-( :nut

What about my post is inaccurate?

McGuigan's induction to the IBHOF, valid or not, is based on more than just statistics.

Mitchell's career was similar to McGuigan's in that he stood for political unity and fundamental harmony, except that Mitchell's case for the IBHOF is also supported by statistics.

[#1]

It's the Hall of Fame not the Hall of Greatest Boxers. Boxers who brought fame and notoriety or contributed something significant to boxing should be inducted (i.e. Gatti).

[Motor City Sam]

What about my post is inaccurate?

McGuigan's induction to the IBHOF, valid or not, is based on more than just statistics.

Mitchell's career was similar to McGuigan's in that he stood for political unity and fundamental harmony, except that Mitchell's case for the IBHOF is also supported by statistics.

Mitchell had a nice career, I would say better than Barry's. But was Brian fighting all over the world for political unity or because some of the ABC's weren't sanctioning fights in South Africa because of apartheid?

[warchild]

Mitchell had a nice career, I would say better than Barry's. But was Brian fighting all over the world for political unity or because some of the ABC's weren't sanctioning fights in South Africa because of apartheid?

You might be right. I don't know for sure that Mitchell fought abroad based on principal, because of sanctioning bodies restrictions, or both.

[Zakman]

Why Did Freakin Barry McGuigan make it to the HOF?


maybe because he's whiter than Conan O'Brien..
You might be on to something there.

But he's not the only one - glorified clubfigher Ray Mancini is in. Jim Braddock, who, yeah, scored a great upset, but was otherwise pretty mediocre is in, as is Jess Willard. There are actually LOTS of mediocre fighters in the HOF.

Personally, I think only the "greatest of the greats" should be inducted. But clearly that's not the policy of the people that do the inductions.

[nervousxtian]

IBHOF loses all credibility when that happens.

It has credibility now??

[GazOC]

Gatti should be.

Whatever his limitations, Gatti is a two (?) time world champion who (more importantly) was involved in no less than 4 Ring 'Fights of the Year'. Thats good enough for the HOF in my book.

[GazOC]

Mitchell had a nice career, I would say better than Barry's. But was Brian fighting all over the world for political unity or because some of the ABC's weren't sanctioning fights in South Africa because of apartheid?

I think only the WBA was 'allowing' South African champs at the time and they had to fight on th road....not 100% sure though.

[Joe Gans]

Does "Leave the fighting to Barry." sound familiar?

McGuigan was inducted to the IBHOF based largely on the political climate that existed during his career, and the fact that his success was something that, to an extent, brought both sides of the issue together in the name of national pride.

So there's more to the story than just statistics.

Having said that....

Brian Mitchell of South Africa traveled the world defending his title in protest of the concept of aparthied, which was the cause of the turmoil which existed in his home country at the time. Mitchell also had an excellent career, defending the WBA junior lightweight title many times, winning the IBF title in a unification match, and defeating every fighter who he faced.

Mitchell's career may not have had the political impact that McGugian's did, but if McGuigan is in the IBHOF, Mitchell should be too.

Brian Mitchel fought his heart out, a truly deserving champion.

[bulakenyo]

Does "Leave the fighting to Barry." sound familiar?

McGuigan was inducted to the IBHOF based largely on the political climate that existed during his career, and the fact that his success was something that, to an extent, brought both sides of the issue together in the name of national pride.

So there's more to the story than just statistics.

Having said that....

Brian Mitchell of South Africa traveled the world defending his title in protest of the concept of aparthied, which was the cause of the turmoil which existed in his home country at the time. Mitchell also had an excellent career, defending the WBA junior lightweight title many times, winning the IBF title in a unification match, and defeating every fighter who he faced.

Mitchell's career may not have had the political impact that McGugian's did, but if McGuigan is in the IBHOF, Mitchell should be too.

Maybe the hall of fame should have a special section where boxers who were very good but just missed the cut, or fighters that had a big impact outside of the ring? Theyre not officially hall of famers but their body of work is recognized.

[Joe Gans]

Maybe the hall of fame should have a special section where boxers who were very good but just missed the cut, or fighters that had a big impact outside of the ring? Theyre not officially hall of famers but their body of work is recognized.

Good point, even still it would be pressing for McGuigan to enter that rank.

[bulakenyo]

Ive never seen him fight so I cant comment on that.

But when EA Sports "Knockout Kings" first came out on the PS1, I always picked McGuigan to be my opponent coz he cuts pretty easily in that game. By rounds 8 or 9, everytime you jab his face, blood keeps on splattering out of his eyebrows and the referee stops the fight a couple of rounds later.

[Motor City Sam]

You might be right. I don't know for sure that Mitchell fought abroad based on principal, because of sanctioning bodies restrictions, or both.

Whatever the reason, he certainly had an impressive reign, defending his title 12 times in six different countries. That's quite an accomplishment, regardless of why it worked out that way.

And if someone were to compare him to McGuigan, it could be pointed out that one of his defenses was a win over Jim McDonnell, who later beat Barry by stoppage.

[Lex]

What about steve Cruz ?

Good point. Steve won the title from Barry in what became The Ring's 1986 Fight of the Year. So... shouldn't that accomplishment elevate the status of both fighters, improving their eligibility for HOF?

I saw Stevie before he won the title, as an amateur and early in his pro career, and the defense against Roger Arevalo. (If I'm recalling correctly, that was held outdoors on a ring set up on Main Street in the middle of downtown Fort Worth. That was a big deal because Main Street is blocked off only for major hoo-hahs, like the arts festival, Cinco de Mayo, etc.) He was good.

Stevie's career seemed rocky after losing the title; lots of ups and downs. I got the feeling that he was uncomfortable with the pressure of fulfilling the expectations of local fans.

If beating LaPorte and Pedroza isn't enough to get McGuigan into the HOF, then I doubt Cruz will be considered either, altho' I think both deserve at least a nomination.