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12/04 12:14 CST Gennadiy Golovkin, Antonio Tarver, Nigel Benn elected to Boxing
Hall of Fame
Gennadiy Golovkin, Antonio Tarver, Nigel Benn elected to Boxing Hall of Fame
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
Gennadiy Golovkin, the power puncher who made a record-tying 20 consecutive
middleweight title defenses, was elected to the International Boxing Hall of
Fame on Thursday.
Former champions Antonio Tarver and Nigel Benn are the other headline names in
the class that will be enshrined in the museum in Canastota, New York. The
ceremony is scheduled for June 14, 2026.
Golovkin was elected in his first year on the ballot in voting by members of
the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing
historians.
The native of Kazakhstan went 42-2-1 with 37 KOs. After earning his first title
in 2010 in his 19th fight, he remained champion at 160 pounds until Canelo
Alvarez edged him in 2018 in their second bout. The 20 consecutive defenses
tied the division record set by Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins.
"This is the biggest honor in boxing and the last piece of the puzzle in my
career. I'm proud to have a legacy in boxing," Golovkin said after being
informed of his induction by the Hall.
Triple G fought to a draw with Alvarez in their first matchup and lost to him
in a challenge for the super middleweight title in his final fight in 2022
after regaining the middleweight crown.
A silver medalist in the 2004 Olympics, Golovkin was elected last month as
president of World Boxing, the organization aiming to run the Olympic
tournaments at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KOs) had multiple title reigns at light heavyweight, one
coming after he knocked out Roy Jones Jr. in the second round of their 2004
fight. He won two of his three matchups with Jones, who had long been
considered the top fighter in boxing. Tarver, the light heavyweight bronze
medalist in the 1996 Olympics, also played heavyweight champion Mason Dixon in
"Rocky Balboa."
Benn won titles at middleweight and super middleweight, holding the latter belt
for four years, and went 42-5-1 with 35 KOs. The British fighter's son, Conor,
recently beat Chris Eubank Jr. after their fathers fought twice in the 1990s,
with the elder Eubank earning a win and a draw against Nigel Benn.
Jimmy Clabby, who racked up an 86-21-23 record with 46 KOs before retiring in
1923, and women's boxers Naoko Fujioka and Jackie Nava were also elected.
Fujioka was Japan's first five-division champion and went 19-3-1 with 7 KOs.
Nava won titles at bantamweight and super bantamweight in consecutive fights in
2005 to highlight her 40-4-4 career with 16 KOs.
Also set to be enshrined are trainers and cut men Russ Anber and Jimmy Glenn,
referee Frank Cappuccino and Dr. Edwin "Flip" Homansky, who became just the
second physician to be inducted. The first is his wife, Dr. Margaret Goodman.
Journalist Kevin Iole and late broadcaster Alex Wallau were inducted from the
Observer category.
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