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Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
The International Boxing Hall of Fame’s rules mandate that exactly three boxers enter each class, but some years it’s difficult to find even one fighter to vote for, let alone the maximum of five, in the men’s modern boxers category (last professional bout no earlier than 1989).
This year presented among the easiest choices voters will ever face among the 42 options for the Class of 2025, which be announced Thursday morning. It’s the legendary Manny Pacquiao’s first year of eligibility, and it would be egregious if he isn’t selected unanimously. Fighters have to be at least three years removed from their last fight to be eligible.
Pacquiao, whose last fight was a lopsided decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021, was transformative for the sport as one of its most popular boxers ever. “Pacman” was a whirlwind who put the Philippines on the boxing map and produced countless sold-out crowds in Las Vegas along with several pay-per-views that crossed the 1 million-buy mark. Pacquiao won titles in a record eight weight classes, an incredible feat when you consider he won his first title at 108 pounds and his final at 154 pounds.
He was one-half of the top revenue-generating fight of all time, his 2015 clash with Floyd Mayweather that took place about five years too late. And Pacquiao was beloved for his indelible fighting spirit, his never-surrender attitude that was on display during his epic tetralogy with Juan Manuel Marquez and a series of slugfests in a trilogy with Erik “Terrible” Morales.
Pacquiao was an easy choice for me. He was one of the two biggest stars in boxing during a nearly 20-year period, owns several signature victories over Hall of Famers and enjoyed a lengthy run as one of the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, along with Mayweather.
The other picks weren’t so easy. I voted for only one other fighter, Antonio Tarver, eschewing the opportunity to select a third (even though a third will be elected, I’d rather vote exclusively for boxers I believe deserve the honor). Tarver, the longtime light heavyweight champion, has been on the ballot since 2019.
Tarver isn’t a slam dunk, but he compares favorably to many boxers currently in the Hall, though I don’t give that much consideration when voting. I believe each boxer should be considered on their own merit, ones who earned longtime recognition as a top-10 pound-for-pound and had signature victories over other future Hall of Famers.
Tarver seemingly checks a lot of boxes. He absolutely drilled the great Roy Jones Jr. in their 2004 rematch for the lineal light heavyweight championship, a crushing second-round TKO that was hard to believe. Jones appeared invincible at the time and had never been knocked down, but here he was, struggling to make it to his feet following a picture-perfect counter left cross from Tarver.
Tarver’s victory over Jones came after he dropped a controversial decision in the previous fight, the first time Jones looked human. Tarver went on to drop the championship to Glen Johnson via split decision but avenged the defeat in the rematch. The Tampa, Florida, native defeated Jones again in the third fight, this time via a lopsided decision before he was routed by Bernard Hopkins over 12 rounds.
“I beat some of the best fighters in the world,” Tarver told ESPN on Tuesday. “And I did it consistently. I’m a four-time world champion but I was never favored to win a title. They try to overlook my greatness because I made my fights look easy. Even though I was fighting hard, I was relaxed, I was cool, I was calm.
“I believe if they take their personal feelings out and take it from my accomplishments, it’s hard to say I’m not a bona fide Hall of Famer. I earned it from the Olympics all the way to the pros. And I had to do it the hard way because nobody thought I was worth it. They told me I started too late.”
Tarver won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games and then turned pro at the advanced age of 27. He defeated a slew of top 175-pounders to land the Jones fight: Eric Harding (who avenged defeat in the rematch), Reggie Johnson and Montell Griffin, among others.
Tarver went on to star alongside Sylvester Stallone in the sixth “Rocky” installment, “Rocky Balboa,” as heavyweight champion Mason “The Line” Dixon in 2006.
“Do people think Sylvester Stallone is stupid? He picked me out of everybody,” Tarver said. “He watched and followed me throughout my career. Look what that movie did for us. He revitalized his career. … If [boxing promoters] would have put that machine behind me for one week, I would have been a huge star.”
Instead, following a pair of losses in 2008 and 2009 to light heavyweight champion and pound-for-pound mainstay Chad Dawson, Tarver moved to cruiserweight. That’s where the trouble began for Tarver, at age 43, following a win over Lateef Kayode. He tested positive for the banned substance drostanolone and was suspended, the decision win changed to a no contest.
Then after a 2015 draw with former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham at heavyweight, Tarver tested positive for synthetic testosterone. He never fought again.
Many electors over the years have offered Tarver’s failed PED tests as the reason they didn’t vote for him. However, there are multiple fighters enshrined who have been linked to PEDs or even failed tests.
“I’m the scapegoat,” Tarver said.
There are three boxers who appeared on the ballot this year for the first time: Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia and Lucian Bute. I considered all three but declined to cast a vote for any of them.
They were all fine fighters who had impressive careers filled with accomplishments, but each one was lacking something in my view. Porter never scored a signature victory, though he came close in a thrilling title fight with Errol Spence Jr. in 2019. Porter, who made several welterweight title defenses, retired in 2021 following a TKO loss to Terence Crawford, whom Porter was very competitive with.
Garcia won titles in four divisions, but he, too, lacked a signature victory, though he was a pound-for-pound staple, unlike Porter. In his most high-profile fight, he was shut out by Spence in 2019 and retired in 2021 following a shocking defeat to Sandor Martin.
Bute, a Romanian who fought out of Quebec, was a major attraction in Canada but lacked anything remotely approaching a signature win. Bute ended his career in 2017 with three consecutive losses but is just now appearing on the ballot for the first time.