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Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Ward and Wladimir Klitschko they lead the Class 2021 of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, chosen by the active members of the American Boxing Writers Association (BWAA). Leila Ali and Ann Wolfe will also be recognized.
Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, who first appeared on the ballot, was left short of getting the required number of votes to be selected to accompany Wilfred Benítez, Wilfredo Gómez, Titus Trinity, Sixto Escobar, Pedro Montañez, Héctor “Macho” Camacho, Edwin “Chapo” Rosario, Carlos Ortiz, José “Chegüi” Torres and “Cocoa Kid” Herbert Lewis in the enclosure located in Canastota, New York.
Each BWAA member has the right to choose up to five names from the list of eligible candidates. The rules stipulate that the three with the most votes will automatically be exalted. Cotto may have accompanied the group and appears in 80% of the returned balls.
Mayweather Jr. he closed his career with a 50-0 record and other world records in five categories (130, 135, 140, 147 and 154 pounds). Their fights generated 24 million purchases of the ‘pay per view’ service, which is equivalent to $ 1.6 billion in revenue.
Ward also retired undefeated (32-0) after winning championships in the super middleweight (168 lbs) and light heavyweight (175 lbs) categories.
Klitschko, meanwhile, resumed in the full-weight division over a cumulative period of 4,382 days. He defeated 23 opponents in championship fights. He won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The exaltation ceremony will be on Sunday, June 13 next year along with the 2020 Class which includes Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Márquez, among others. Last June’s activity was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Your time will come
Cotto, meanwhile, will remain as a candidate for upcoming voting along with Iván “Iron Boy” Calderón, Wilfredo “Wi” Vázquez and Samuel Serrano.
“Cotto, without a doubt, is a Hall of Fame and it will be. Mayweather, Ward and Klitschko were expected to enter this year and had hopes for Cotto as well, but the competition was fierce. said Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel, President of the World Boxing Organization (WBO).
During his career in the sport, Cotto won world scepters at 140, 147, 154 and 160 pounds. In fact, he is the first and only Puerto Rican to achieve a 41-6 record with 33 knockouts.
“Of the four titles Cotto won, three were ours (OMB). He was first NABO champion before beating Kelson Pinto for the world title, ”Valcárcel recorded, noting that Mayweather, Ward and Klitschko also wore OMB belts.
“It is a source of pride for OMB that all three were our champions and Cotto will be in the Hall of Fame soon, as is Calderon, who, it must be acknowledged, also deserves to be.” concluded Valcárcel.