The Boxing Hall of Fame is Poised to Welcome ‘GGG’ plus other News from Canastota

The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum in Canastota, New York, has released its ballot for the Class of 2026. In the male, modern-era category, there are three new names on the list: Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin, Steve Collins, and Vernon Forrest.

The electorate consists of the full members of the Boxing Writers Association of America plus “boxing historians from around the world.” The IBHOF does not identify these historians, but says they come from England, Canada, Japan, Australia, Argentina, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States.

The IBHOF acknowledges inductees in seven categories, but the “male, modern-era” category is the only category open to all full members of the BWAA (there are currently 85).

There were four new faces on the 42-name ballot last year: Manny Pacquiao, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Lucien Bute. Pacquiao made it (a foregone conclusion) but the others did not receive enough votes to get in. Holdovers Vinny Paz and Michael Nunn shared the rostrum with “PacMan” at the June induction ceremony.

To be eligible for induction in the men’s or women’s modern category, a boxer must be retired for at least three years. It was previously five years, but reduced to three by the IBHOF Board of Governors at their April 2019 meeting.

Manny Pacquiao had the unprecedented distinction of entering the Hall and fighting for a world title in the same year. (2022 inductee Holly Holm was also in action this year, having returned to boxing after a 12-year career in MMA.)

Pacquiao was presumably named on every ballot but we can’t know for sure as the IBHOF does not release the results of the voting. “The International Boxing Hall of Fame believes all inductees should be viewed equally when they’re inducted each June,” says the organization on its website. “If the announcement of an induction class includes a notation of votes and/or percentage of votes received, then that spirit of equality vanishes.”

This decision has caused some controversy. The lack of transparency invites suspicion that the leading vote-getters are selected behind closed doors in the proverbial smoke-filled room with an eye toward ensuring a good turnout at the Hall’s Induction Weekend. (As we have noted before, this annual June jamboree reportedly draws as many people as will visit the Canastota shrine during all the other days of the year combined and a strong turnout is considered useful for renewing the stipend that comes from New York’s state treasury.)

IBHOF Executive President and co-founder Ed Brophy bristles at the slander and we have no doubt that the selection process for men and women’s boxers is free of any gerrymandering. However, we can’t say the same for the Non-Participant and Observer categories (here we find promoters and their helpmates, ring officials, publicists, members of the media, and others). In recent years, these categories have been allowed to drift toward a good ol’ boy network at the expense of decedents who had a far greater influence on the sport.

Some folks have also found fault with the inflexibility of a system that dictates that three, and only three, men’s modern boxers will enter the Hall each year, as in some years there is a surfeit of worthy candidates. BWAA members can pick as many as five boxers on their ballot, but only three will make the final cut. (There is the possibility of more than three as anyone receiving 80 percent or more of the votes is assured of induction even if not in the top three.)

Women

At the April 2019 meeting at which the retirement gap was shortened from five years to three, the Board of Governors made a more momentous decision when they opened the Hall to female boxers. The inaugural 2020 class consisted of contemporaries Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker and trailblazer Barbara Buttrick.

The female wing of the IBHOF now consists of 18 inductees, 13 modern and five trailblazer. Three modern female boxers were named to the Hall last year, up from two in each of the previous years.

On the female side, the new nominees are Japan’s Naoko Fujioka, Germany’s Christina Hammer, and Mexico’s Jackie Nava.

Fujioka, 50, last fought in April of 2022, losing a wide decision to former U.S. Olympian Marlen Esparza, reducing her record to 19-3-1 (7).

The IBHOF notes that during her career Fujioka captured world titles in five weight classes. That she could accomplish this feat in only 23 fights says less about her than about the trivialization of the word “champion” as it pertains to professional boxing.

Here are snapshots of the three male newcomers on the IBHOF ballot:

Steve Collins

The “Celtic Warrior,” who fought out of Dublin, finished 36-3 (21) in a 12-year career that began in 1986. He scored four signature wins over two opponents, defeating borderline Hall of Famers Chris Eubank Jr and Nigel Benn twice.

He out-pointed Eubank in matches staged six months apart on 1995. The following year, he twice defeated Nigel Benn inside the distance. The first TKO was fluky although Collins was ahead on the cards. Benn twisted his ankle and could not continue. In the second fight, the final fight of Benn’s career, Nigel quit on his stool after six frames. Both bouts were contested before pro-Benn crowds of 20,000-plus in Manchester.

Vernon Forrest

A decorated amateur, Forrest was 41-3 (29) as a pro. A world title-holder at 147 and 154, he scored two wins over future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley and ended his career on a winning note after reclaiming his WBC super welterweight title in a rematch with Sergio Mora.

Sadly, 10 months after upending Mora, the Georgia native was fatally shot while attempting to foil a carjacking in Atlanta.

Gennediy Golovkin

An Olympic silver medalist, reputedly 345-5 as an amateur, GGG was 42-2-1 (37) as a pro. Both losses and the draw came in mega-fights with Canelo Alvarez. (The general feeling was that Golovkin edged it in their first meeting.)

Long before his trilogy with the red-headed Mexican, one could see that Golovkin was special. “He doesn’t look like a world-class fighter,” wrote Thomas Hauser, “but every punch in his arsenal has the potential to debilitate an opponent.”

Golovkin is currently the President of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee, a post he assumed last year. He is considered a shoo-in to have his name called when the IBHOF unveils the Class of 2026 in early December.

The new inductees will be formally enshrined on Sunday, June 14, 2026, the capstone of the four-day Hall of Fame weekend.

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