Strong cases can be made that the three male fighters in the International Boxing Hall of Fame Class of 2023 – Tim Bradley, Carl Froch and Rafael Marquez – deserve the honor.
At the same time, it isn’t the strongest class in recent years. Bradley, Froch and Marquez were among the most-accomplished fighters of their eras but not obvious choices – like Floyd Mayweather or Bernard Hopkins, for example — for the Hall of Fame.
They had impressive, but far from perfect resumes.
Here are arguments for and against the newest members of the Hall, who will be formally inducted in June at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, which is in upstate New York.
Note: The Hall made the announcement of their election on Wednesday.
TIM BRADLEY (33-2-1, 13 KOs)
FOR
Bradley wasn’t a powerful puncher but had elite ability, worked as hard as anyone in the sport and was durable. And the only fighter who beat was one of the greatest ever. He won five world titles in two divisions, for what that’s worth in an era of far too many belts. He also defeated a long list of elite opponents. He had an impressive stretch between 2007 and 2013, when his victims included Miguel Vazquez, Junior Witter, Kendall Holt, Nate Campbell, Lamont Peterson, Devon Alexander, Joel Casamayor, a still-formidable Manny Pacquiao, Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez. The victory over Marquez might’ve been the best of his career. Few fighters of the generation could match that impressive run.
AGAINST
The vast majority of observers thought Bradley was given a gift split decision against Pacquiao in their first fight (in 2012), which can’t be ignored. The Filipino star deserved the victory. And Pacquiao won both the rematch – which followed the Marquez victory – and their third fight by wide decisions (2014 and 2016). The fact is Bradley was never the same after the Marquez fight (2013), going 2-2-1 to close out his career when he was still young (30-32). He retired after losing his third fight with Pacquiao in 2016. The brutal, toe-to-toe brawl with Provodnikov in 2013 might’ve shortened his career.
IS HE WORTHY OF THE HONOR?
Yes
CARL FROCH (33-2, 24 KOs)
FOR
Froch wasn’t exceptionally quick or athletic but he was a clever boxer with formidable punching power and an abundance of confidence, which took the Englishman a long way. He was a three-time super middleweight titleholder between 2008 and 2015, making him one of the most consistent 168-pounders of his era. During that stretch, he defeated Jean Pascal (to win his first title), Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, Glen Johnson, Lucian Bute, Mikkel Kessler (rematch) and George Groves (twice). His only losses came against the capable Kessler in their first fight and future Hall of Famer Andre Ward. He delivered a classic mic drop in 2014, when he knocked out Groves with one punch in front of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium and then retired.
AGAINST
Ward exposed Froch’s limitations, outclassing him to win what should’ve been a wide decision in the championship match of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament )2011. It seemed in that fight that Ward was great, Froch merely good. Of course, it might not be fair to compare Froch with Ward, who finished his career with a perfect record and arguably is one of the greatest boxers of all time. The loss to Kessler (2010) doesn’t help his case but there’s no shame in it. Kessler was an excellent all-around fighter. And Froch avenged the loss convincingly, meaning he beat everyone he fought except Ward.
IS HE WORTHY OF THE HONOR?
Yes
RAFAEL MARQUEZ (41-9, 37 KOs)
FOR
Marquez wasn’t as skillful as his more-celebrated brother and fellow Hall of Famer, Juan Manuel Marquez, but the Mexican was an excellent boxer with a never-say-die warrior spirit and one-punch knockout power to go with it. He had a four-year run as a bantamweight titleholder and also won a junior featherweight belt. He’s best known for his historic four-fight series with Israel Vazquez between 2007 and 2010 – they each won twice — but he had a number of other important victories. Among them: He defeated fellow Hall of Famer Mark Johnson (twice), Mauricio Pastrana (twice) and previously unbeaten Tim Austin (to win his first title).
AGAINST
Marquez didn’t have as many quality victories as some other Hall of Famers. Plus, he and Marquez weren’t the same fighters for their fourth meeting, in part the result of the brutality of the first three. It had the feel of an old-timers game. Vazquez won two of the three meetings that should count most, once by knockout. He stopped Vazquez twice, in the first and fourth fights. He also was only 9-4 in world title fights. And, finally, Marquez, who retired at 34, struggled down the final stretch of his career: He went 4-6 in his final 10 fights. He shouldn’t be judged too harshly because of that; many great fighters have stumbled into retirement.
IS HE WORTHY OF THE HONOR?
Yes
[lawrence-related id=34607]