A flavour of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame

This is not intended to be a detailed report on the International Hall of Fame induction weekend, which ran from Thursday June 10 to Sunday June 13, but just some notes to give a flavour of the events. (Eric left, with Angelo Dundee)

The Hall is in this small New York State, Canastota, because it is the town where both Carmen Basilio and Billy Backus were born. Both men donated some items to a small local display, and the idea just grew from there into the world famous venue it is now.

Canastota is not the easiest place to get to from the UK. It required 24 hours of travel for me to reach the neatest airport (Syracuse) and from there I needed a hire car. I arrived Friday morning, so missed the Thursday part of the programme. Firstly I took a look around both the Hall and the other main building. Although not large, the Hall has a host of great photos of fighters past and present and of all of those inducted into the Hall. It also has various belts and other trophies from famous fighters.

The other building is mainly taken up with the Madison Square Garden ring. When MSG decided to replace the old ring they donated it to the Hall, and it is almost like a historic monument when one considers all of the great fights and fighters who graced it.

On Friday morning referee Kenny Bayliss and former world champion Buddy McGirt were answering questions for visitors on refereeing and training/corner work. There was some discussion on drug testing, but the opinion seemed to be that the current system of immediately before and immediately after was sufficient - not my opinion.

Next up was Don Scott who gave a talk aimed at collectors of boxing memorabilia on how to check authenticity and provenance, things to watch out for when buying items and tips on what type of items to collect. This was followed by a workout in the ring by current WBC and WBO middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, who later posed for photos and signed autographs. All three of the fighting Fullmer brothers, Gene, Don and Jay where on the grounds at this time and again were happy to pose for photos etc. Gene is looking frail and Jay did most of the talking.

There was then a fist casting ceremony where 2010 inductees Danny “Little Red” Lopez, Jung Koo Chang and writer Ed Schuler had casts made of their fists for the museum. That evening there was a dinner to celebrate those great fighters who fought in the MSG and the corner men who worked there.

George Chuvalo recalled his fights there and surprised by saying that the most exciting fight he had were not against Muhammad Ali, but at the MSG with Floyd Patterson. Gerry Cooney ( looking well), the Fullmer brothers, Carlos Ortiz, Vito Antuofermo, Lou Duva, Angelo Dundee (who stated that his 5th street gym was reopening in Miami), McGirt, a much too well looking Nino Benvenuti (looked about 40 - with the author, right) and Emile Griffith all stood up and recounted their experience and the awe they felt in actually fighting at the MSG. Emile is in a poor way, but it was nice to see Nino gently leading him to the stage and displaying the sort of deep affinity with his old opponent that is so much a part of the fellowship of former boxers. From TV, Al Bernstein was also in attendance.

On Saturday morning there is a 5km run for charity which some of the boxers undertake (I was to also do the run but had torn a hamstring muscle a couple of weeks earlier - honest).

There is also a large memorabilia fair with a vast array of boxing history on show and for sale. Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz has a table there as he is a serious collector of boxing memorabilia. Charles and Kimberly Taylor are also regular participants and add a little touch of home for British visitors as it is always great to see these two friendly and familiar faces. Many of the boxers attend the fair and again are available for photos and autographs.

Back at the grounds Angelo Dundee and Bert Sugar were doing a live radio broadcast for ESPN and in between commercial breaks they talked to the many visitors who surrounded the ESPN booth. Saturday is also the day of the celebrity golf game and, apart from those who play, Tommy Morrison, Livingstone Bramble and Earnie Shavers were there. I even managed to catch the last 30 minutes of the England vs USA match on a TV in the bar, but noticed that only about 20% of those in the bar were interested in watching. Football is still not big in the USA.

Back at the grounds Lou Duva, Larry Hazard and Vito Antuofermo gave a questions and answers sessions as did author George Kimball whose “Four Kings” book, about the Leonard, Hagler, Hearns and Duran series of fights is a good read for any boxing fan. Lou is obviously not very mobile after his stroke, but his sharp brain and sense of humour have not diminished. Both he and 2010 inductee Larry stressed the good influence that boxing can have on youngsters in character building, learning discipline and developing decision making skills, but also stressed the need for parents to get involved in supporting their kids in this.

There was a cocktail party in the late afternoon and it was pretty crowded. All of the previously mentioned boxers were there but in addition I did manage to spot Carlos Ortiz, Riddick Bowe, and the ever present Ruben Olivares (left, unsurprisingly with a beverage). There was a Banquet of Champions dinner in Syracuse in the evening which I skipped to spend time with some friends as a visit to the Hall is the only time I get to catch up with them, and it is great just sitting down and swapping boxing stories.

Missing from our party was Jack Obermayer who is recovering from a serious operation. Sunday morning/ early afternoon is taken up with the celebrity parade through the streets of Canastota. This is a real celebration for the area and all the local school marching bands, the police, firemen, clowns, charities etc. form part of the parade, interspersed with open-topped cars bearing the boxers, trainers etc. It always rains on the parade irrespective of the weather at any other time, but this time it was brief and light.

The afternoon is the finale, the induction ceremony. This year’s inductees present were Danny Lopez, Jung Koo Chang, Wilfried Sauerland, Ed Schuler, Bruce Trampler, Shelly Finkell and Larry Hazard. Posthumously inducted were Lloyd Marshall, Young Corbett II, Rocky Kansas, Billy Miske, Howard Cosell and Paddington Tom Jones. Members of the family of Rocky Kansas and Bill Miske were in attendance. In addition to those I have already mentioned Bob Arum, Billy Backus, Carmen Basilio, Don Chargin, Joe Cortez, Steve Cunnigham, Tony DeMarco, Dick Diveronica, Marco Huck, Ron Lyle, Rafael Marquez, Ken Norton, Troy Ross, “Bonecrusher” Smith, Leon Spinks and Marlon Starling were also in attendance.

It really is a dream time for boxing fans as these guys are all available for photos and autographs and you also get a chance to chat to them and in some cases get in depth information when they are on for the questions and answers sessions. If there is a down side it is in the travel to this up-State New York town and in filling-in the periods when there is nothing actually happening at the grounds, but this is a small price to pay for actually meeting the guys you have watched and admired from afar. Only in Canastota!

Next year will see the names of Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez on the ballot and you can be sure that they will be elected and attend.