Hall of a chance: Among active fighters, who’s headed for Canastota? Probables
- Shidonna Raven
- Sep 2
- 3 min read
BY ERIC RASKIN
This Article has been curated by UDBN
June 19, 2025
Source: Boxing Scene
Probables
Anthony Joshua: A couple of the losses are ugly, and he ultimately fell short of most people’s expectations, but if you want to make the case that “AJ” is a sure shot because of his star power and because he’s a heavyweight, I’ll listen.
Errol Spence: It remains to be seen how (or if at all) Spence will respond to his first defeat, but wins over Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Mikey Garcia, Yordenis Ugas and Kell Brook prior to that likely get him over the hall-of-fame hump even if he never fights again.
Artur Beterbiev: He seemed on the path to sure-shot status until he fell short in the rematch with Bivol, and there’s a chance he won’t accomplish anything else now that he’s in his 40s. Beterbiev’s wasn’t a lengthy or particularly active pro career, so some voters may pause, even though he was an absolute beast throughout his five-year lineal light-heavyweight title reign.
Kenshiro Teraji: “The Amazing Boy’s” resume should land him narrowly on the plus side of the IBHOF line, but you never know if a mostly North American voter base will come through for a pint-sized foreign fighter with limited international exposure. But given that he’s 33 years old, still going strong, and did some of his most memorable work in his past few fights, the odds are in his favor.
Deontay Wilder: The resume says “long shot”, and so does the technique that seems to answer the question, “What if you tried to teach an inflatable tube man outside a car dealership to box?”. But borderline heavyweights — especially those who rank among the most destructive punchers ever — are never as borderline as they would be if they were lighter.
Sure shots: This one should be self-explanatory. These are fighters who could retire tomorrow and be assured of induction, or who could lose their next 10 fights in a row and then retire and still be assured of induction, such is the shine of their current credentials.
Probables: Boxers who are firmly in the mix but figure to be the subject of contentious debate the first time their names appear on the ballot. The induction standards now being what they are, they’ll likely get in eventually. But it’s far from certain, and unlikely to happen on their first try.
Long shots: These guys can’t be entirely ruled out — the likes of Vinny Paz and Michael Moorer were surely viewed as long shots at one time — but in all likelihood, they’ll spend their post-pugilism years on the outside looking in.
Too soon to tell: There are all different degrees of “too soon to tell”, but this category isn’t for the likes of Abdullah Mason, Keyshawn Davis, Moses Itauma or anyone else who has talent but hasn’t yet had anything close to a defining fight. If you’re to any degree still a prospect — and yes, sadly, one can be both a prospect and a beltholder at the same time nowadays — it’s too soon to even put you on this “too soon” list. Rather, this category is for boxers who’ve proven a thing or two at the elite level, but need to do more before we can properly debate their IBHOF worthiness.
A couple of key clarifications: First, we’re strictly looking at the modern men’s category here. So, yes, Claressa Shields, Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor are all 100-percent guaranteed hall of famers, but that’s subject matter for a different article.
And second, we’re focusing on active fighters. If you haven’t fought in more than three years and could potentially have your name on the next ballot, like Gary Russell Jnr and Leo Santa Cruz (both “long shots” anyway), even if you’ve never officially announced your retirement, I’m skipping over you.
And if you have announced your retirement, like Lomachenko (sure shot), Sergey Kovalev (straddling the fence between probable and long shot) or Daniel Jacobs (extreme long shot), you’re not a part of this.
The one exception to that rule: Tyson Fury, because very few observers are taking his latest retirement announcement seriously.
All right, we don’t need this article running as long as the late, great Steve Smoger’s 2015 induction speech. So, enough preamble, let’s get to it.
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