Hall of a chance: Among active fighters, who’s headed for Canastota? Sure Shots
- Shidonna Raven
- 3 days ago
- 4 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.
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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