Sergio Martinez, Nonito Donaire and the Young Hall of Fame Hopefuls
As fighters such as Sergio Martinez, Nonito Donaire and Andre Ward establish themselves as boxing's top talents and begin to prepare for their next fights, it seems appropriate to gauge where their careers are headed. Namely, which of boxing's top rising stars has the potential to make it to the Hall of Fame?
This list does not include active fighters such as Manny Pacquiao, Wladmir Klitschko or Floyd Mayweather Jr., who would almost certainly see their names inducted to the Hall of Fame should they retire tomorrow. Rather, this list looks to the fighters who could establish themselves as all-time greats within the next few years.
In no particular order, here are the top young boxers and their prospects of entering the Hall of Fame.
Andre Ward
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Why He Is on the List
Andre Ward is currently achieving the most success of all of the contestants in the Super Six Tournament, which pits the top super middleweights against one another. Although considered by many experts to be too green entering the tournament, Ward has soundly defeated all opposition.
Ward is now the odds-on favorite to win the tournament, going undefeated in the process, and moving on to be a top pound-for-pound fighter. Ward’s skill, youth, experience and in-ring maturity give him the look of a boxer that could be a champion for years to come.
While Ward is perhaps too young to be considered on a list of potential Hall of Fame candidates, he is already establishing himself with consistent wins over the top opposition in his division.
What He Needs To Do To Get In
Ward needs to continue on his current trajectory. He needs to continue in the Super Six tournament and come out with a victory. A subsequent win over Lucian Bute would secure his position at the top of the super middleweight heap. After this point, Ward is young enough that a few losses will not hurt his legacy very much as long as he can bounce back with more dominant wins against top competition. An eventual move and lineal title at light heavyweight would significantly enhance his chances at entering the Hall of Fame.
What Could Keep Him Out
Ward is very young, and there are still a multitude of situations in which he has not been tested. Although Ward has shown poise up until now, it is still difficult to ascertain how he will be respond as his career progresses.
Further, super middleweight has not historically been a money-making division. Should Ward decide to follow the money, he will likely have to travel to light heavyweight where he will be out-sized. If Ward decides to continue to build his hometown following and is satisfied with the money he can make there, he may end out fighting the rest of the super middleweight division in increasingly lower profile fights.
Lastly, it is not a sure thing that he is able to win the Super Six Tournament with the seemingly improving Carl Froch establishing himself as a threat and the highly-skilled Lucian Bute awaiting the tournament’s winner.
Timothy Bradley
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Why He Is on the List
With his win over Devon Alexander, Timothy Bradley has placed himself at the top of the junior welterweight division. Bradley is battle tested and has shown the ability to box, brawl and fight dirty. A portion of his style is reminiscent of a young Bernard Hopkins or Evander Holyfield. To go with his talent and experience is a larger number of potential opponents that include Amir Kahn, Marcos Maidana, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
What He Has To Do To Get In
Bradley has to continue with what he has been doing. He currently has plans to fight Kahn in 2011. Should Bradley win against Kahn, he would obtain international fame and could possibly secure a larger fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao. A victory against either of those fighters, who could potentially be on their downside by that time, would place Bradley at the top of the boxing world. A couple more qualities wins after that and Bradley would be considered among the best of his generation.
What Could Keep Him Out
The same list of options that could secure Bradley a spot in Canastota could potentially keep him out. Junior welterweight is one of the deepest divisions in boxing and the top two pound-for-pound fighters reside one weight class above. While Bradley could earn a significant amount of money for victories over these fighters, it is hard to imagine that he could traverse these weight classes while avoiding numerous, difficult losses. Further, as there is so much talent in and around junior welterweight, a loss could mean that Bradley would move to the back of the contenders list while his victor looks for larger money options.
Miguel Cotto
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Why He Is on the List
Miguel Cotto is perhaps the most established of all of the boxers on this list. He has solid wins against veterans such as Shane Mosley and has held titles in multiple weight divisions. Cotto has been in the ring with a number of the top names of his generation and has been willing to face numerous difficult challengers.
Further, Cotto has a number of options for the future including Sergio Martinez, a rematch with Antonio Margarito or Manny Pacquiao, and a chance to meet one of the other top welterweights should they decide to move up in weight.
What He Has To Do To Get In
Cotto needs a marquee victory to obtain entrance into the Hall of Fame. He already has a strong resume, but he lacks that one or two significant victories that define a career. Cotto has recently begun work with trainer Emanuel Steward and seems to have breathed new life into his career.
Should Steward be able to guide Cotto to revenge over Margarito, a victory over someone of Martinez’s caliber and a win over one of the top names at welterweight, then Cotto will have the significant wins to accompany his already respectable career.
What Could Keep Him Out
Although Cotto is only 30 years old, he has a significant amount of wear and tear on his body that perhaps no trainer can overcome. Should Cotto be unable to secure a couple of career-defining victories, then he will be most remembered for being brutalized in his two most important matches. Cotto has had an admirable career, but he has fallen short twice and may have taken too much punishment to truly return to prominence.
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David Haye
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Why He Is on the List
David Haye is on the list because he is one of the more gifted heavyweights in a rather limited era and has a strong record as cruiserweight champion. He also has the opportunity to make history by beating either Wladmir or Vitali Klitschko for the heavyweight title. An abundance of skill and an opportunity to be great give Haye the opportunity to earn a ticket to the Hall of Fame.
What He Has To Do To Get In
Haye has the simplest list of needs to do in order to get to the Hall of Fame: beat one of or both the Klitschko brothers and follow it up with a successful title defense or two. This is easier said than done but there is a very clear, direct route that to building a strong legacy.
His strong legacy combined with moving up to heavyweight, defeating two dominating champions and legitimizing his championship with a win over someone like Alexander Povetkin or Tomasz Adamek would make Haye eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.
What Could Keep Him Out
While Haye’s route to the Hall of Fame is simple, it is perhaps the most difficult and least forgiving of anyone other fighter on this list. First, regardless of who is to responsible, getting either Klitschko and Haye into the ring together has proven difficult through three failed attempts. Although another round of negotiations has reportedly started, it is entirely possible that Haye will never face the Klitschko brothers.
Second, despite some rough moments early in their careers, the Klitschkos are the dominant heavyweights for a reason. Yes, Vitali is awkward at times and Wladmir’s chin is suspect, but a number of other fighters have made these observations as well, and over the past few years all have suffered defeat. Lastly, should Haye lose to either Klitschko, he would only be remembered for a short cruiserweight career and a mediocre heavyweight campaign.
Sergio Martinez
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Why He Is on the List
Sergio Martinez is coming off a banner year. He went up in weight and beat the lineal champion at middleweight in Kelly Pavlik and followed that up by avenging a close loss with a bone-chilling knockout against Paul Williams. Since that time, Martinez has expressed his eagerness to fight top-level opponents and stay busy. Martinez is a top level pound-for-pound boxer, seems willing to bring back prestige to the middleweights and has just soundly defeated two top-level fighters in a row.
What He Has To Do To Get In
Martinez needs a few more top-level opponents to make it in. While he was a champion at junior middleweight and has been very successful at middleweight, his resume is somewhat thin. Unification at middleweight, a win over one of the smaller name opponents from welterweight and some success at super middleweight would just about seal the deal.
What Could Keep Him Out
He has to hurry. Although Martinez seems to be peaking in his skills, his age seems to say that he is over the hill. At age 36, Martinez may suddenly become old overnight. Further, Martinez may have a hard time finding willing opponents. The largest names in the sport are at welterweight, which is significantly smaller than middleweight. Despite being a budding star, Martinez hardly has the money-drawing power to convince a smaller man to move up.
The other name at middleweight is Felix Sturm who, although talented, seems content to exist in his niche of fighting lesser opponents in front of large home crowds. This leaves only moving up in weight, which could prove difficult due to both the talent at super middleweight and Martinez’s aforementioned age.
Nonito Donaire
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Why He Is on the List
Going into the Fernando Monteil-Nonito Donaire fight, the question wasn’t whether either fight was good, bur rather, it was whether or not Donaire might be special. Donaire proved that yes, he might be special, with a second-round knockout of the much-heralded veteran Monteil.
With dominating wins over Vic Darchynian and Monteil, Donaire has shown that he is the absolute best of the little men. Further, due to his height, frame and age, there remains the potential for some fights against other stars such as Juan Manuel Lopez in addition to title unifications at bantamweight. Donaire is a top-level talent with a lot of options and opponents around him.
What He Has To Do To Get In
If Donaire is going to become an all-time great, he needs to continue challenging himself. Wins over Joseph Abenko at bantamweight and a title in a couple more divisions could well put Donaire on the road to Canastota. Due to his age, a loss or two would not ruin his chances as long as he procures a number of other quality wins and a few more titles.
What Could Keep Him Out
Donaire’s two largest wins are Darchynian and Montiel, and in-between are over three years of decent to mediocre challengers on small pay-per-views. This time period may help Donaire’s career if it allowed him to further hone his craft and become a better overall boxer.
However, should Donaire move up too quickly and be unable to deal with larger-sized opponents, resulting in career-ending losses ,or if he should suffer a career-ending injury, then those three years will be seen as a waste. Worse, should Donaire again return to small pay-per-views against limited opposition, then he will simply lack the resume to be considered great.
Conclusion
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Past the money, the championships and the hype is a lasting legacy. There have been many good boxers, but very few from a generation can be considered great. For each boxing star, there are at least two disappointments. Each of the preceding boxers has an opportunity to be great, but they also have to earn it and avoid numerous pitfalls that could diminish their careers historically. Which of these fighters will be immortalized in the Hall of Fame? Time will tell.
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