Thomas Hauser

Some figures have been immortalized for far less than what others have achieved. It’s time the International Boxing Hall of Fame reevaluates who truly deserves a place in Canastota

On 8 June, 14 men and women will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. Some, like Manny Pacquiao, clearly deserve the honor. Others – in my opinion – don’t. More egregiously, some fighters and other members of the boxing community who should be in the Hall of Fame have never even been on the ballot.

When an irresistible force (Saudi Arabia’s boxing program) met an immovable object (the New York Police Department), the immovable object prevailed

On 2 May, Turki al-Sheikh (chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority and the architect of his country’s Riyadh Season boxing program) planted a flag in Times Square with a fight card styled “FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves”.

Fatal Fury is a combat video game. The Times Square event was presented by SNK Corporation (the game’s developer) and The Ring (now owned by Al-Sheikh) with Golden Boy (Oscar De La Hoya’s promotional company) as the lead promoter. Given the dangers inherent in boxing, “Fatal Fury” is a questionable name for a fight card. But SNK underwrote much of the cost of the promotion and was its primary sponsor.