Hall of a chance: Among active fighters, who’s headed for Canastota? Short Shots
- Shidonna Raven
- 28 minutes ago
- 2 min read
BY ERIC RASKIN
This Article has been curated by UDBN
June 19, 2025
Source: Boxing Scene
Sure shots
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez: You spend about a decade as the most bankable star in the sport, you reach the top of pound-for-pound lists, and you win titles in four divisions — two of them lineal — and there’s nothing to debate, even if you had a dalliance with “tainted meat” and did some cherry-picking in your later years.
Oleksandr Usyk: Olympic gold medalist, lineal cruiserweight champ, lineal heavyweight champ, pound-for-pound king, lovable goofy-grinning weirdo — try poking a hole in his hall-of-fame case, I dare ya.
Terence Crawford: If “Bud” beats Canelo in September, he enters that stratosphere where anyone who doesn’t vote for him on the first ballot should have their right to vote taken away. Actually, Crawford can get KO’d in one round by Alvarez and that punishment would still be appropriate.
Naoya Inoue: Just another two-weight undisputed champ like Usyk and Crawford, but with a knockout rate to make their eyes water. The designation of best fighter ever from Asia is potentially on the table over the remainder of his career. And, no, I haven’t already forgotten about Manny Pacquiao.
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez: His 52-4 record ain’t bad, but in a just world it could be 55-1. Gonzalez ruled each of boxing’s four smallest weight classes — and if not for that damned Ricardo Lopez he’d be the greatest strawweight ever.
Nonito Donaire: Whether you’re looking for explosiveness, longevity, moving up in weight, moving down in weight, year-end awards, or staging comebacks after being written off, “The Filipino Flash’s” career had a little bit of everything.
Tyson Fury: I just covered this case a couple of weeks ago. Love him or hate him, heavyweights with resumes half as good as Fury’s — the second-longest reigning lineal champ in the division’s history — have gained entry into The Hall. He’s a first-ballot lock, even if the vote figures not to be unanimous.
Dmitry Bivol: The Russian’s resume lacks the depth of these other sure shots, perhaps. But there’s no scenario in which a lineal champ who defeated both Canelo Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev controversy-free isn’t a hall of famer.
Juan Francisco Estrada: If Chocolatito was the Muhammad Ali of tiny fighters of the 2000s, then Estrada was his Joe Frazier. There are worlds in which “El Gallo” doesn’t get there on his first ballot. But there are no worlds in which he doesn’t ultimately get there.
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