Hall of a chance: Among active fighters, who’s headed for Canastota? Too soon to Tell
- Shidonna Raven
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
BY ERIC RASKIN
This Article has been curated by UDBN
June 19, 2025
Source: Boxing Scene
Too soon to tell
Teofimo Lopez: Some may say a two-division lineal champ who holds a legit win — perhaps the only legit win — over Lomachenko is already a lock for the hall of fame. But there’s too much inconsistency and unpredictability to Lopez’s performances and his behavior. He needs to stave off implosion a little while longer before he’s a cinch for Canastota.
Gervonta “Tank” Davis: Tank’s outlook is similar to Teo’s. He’s a bigger star than Lopez but a bit less accomplished in the ring, and has also drifted in and out of the lower rungs of pound-for-pound lists – and he’s on a hall-of-fame path if he doesn’t fall apart. His upcoming rematch with Lamont Roach could push him in one direction or the other.
David Benavidez: It’s not his fault Canelo wants nothing to do with him and won’t give him the opportunity to cement his HOF case. Wins over David Morrell, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade are all significant, but it feels like “The Mexican Monster” is still one major victory away.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez: The phrase “hall-of-fame trajectory” was created for fighters like Bam. He’s just 25, he’s already beaten Estrada, Cuadras and Srisaket, and he keeps getting better. It’s just a little early to fully anoint him.
Junto Nakatani: All the above text about Rodriguez fairly directly applies to the 27-year-old Nakatani (who knows, the two of them may even have a future-hall-of-famers showdown someday, as they’re currently just three pounds apart?). One or two more good years, or one win over an A-list opponent like Rodriguez — or, if he could pull it off, Inoue — and “Big Bang” can book his ticket to Canastota.
Shakur Stevenson: Just like Nakatani, Stevenson is an undefeated 27-year-old southpaw on most pound-for-pound lists. The styles are quite different,
though. It can be a little tougher to get the HOF votes if you’re perceived as a stinker, but Stevenson will nevertheless be impossible to deny if he remains at this level for a couple more years.
Devin Haney: This is where we shift from the “in the hall as long as he doesn’t go wildly astray” crowd to someone whose continued success is less assured. Haney is only 26 and the resume includes the lineal lightweight title and a win (however disputed) over Lomachenko, but it remains unknown how much his punishing fight with an over-the-weight, artificially enhanced Ryan Garcia took out of him.
Vergil Ortiz: His health problems appear to be behind him and tough wins over Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov proved plenty, but there’s a long way to still go before his accomplishments place him in the hall-of-fame mix.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis: Much like his theoretical rival Ortiz, the talent is obvious but the quality of opposition has been spotty. Dominating and stopping Eimantis Stanionis was a huge statement. Several bigger statements are required before he gets to think about joining the immortals.
Jai Opetaia: It’s unheard of to get into the hall-of-fame on the basis of a cruiserweight title reign alone. The undefeated Aussie has ruled the division for nearly three years, but chances are his Canastota candidacy will come down to whether he can eventually make some noise at heavyweight (Then again, staying put and breaking all the records for length of cruiserweight reign and number of defenses could do the trick).
Daniel Dubois: If he wins his rematch with Usyk next month to become the one, true heavyweight champion of the world, he’s in. If he loses, well, Dubois is only 27, so there’s time to rebuild. And, as stated several times already in this article, if you’re going to be a borderline hall-of-fame candidate, you’re going to want to be a heavyweight.
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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