The International Boxing Hall of Fame has announced the 12-person Class of 2026. 

The Class of 2026 consists of:

Gennadiy Golovkin (Men’s Modern Category).  “Triple G” made his mark in the sport as one of the greatest Middleweights of all time and arguably the best athlete Kazakhstan has ever produced.  Winning Silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Golovkin was undefeated in his first 39 fights (38 wins and a draw against Canelo Alvarez), and he won a plethora of titles throughout his career.  His titles included the WBA, WBC, and IBF Middleweight and WBA Super Middleweight, and he had an overall record of 42-2-1 (37 KO), with both losses coming against Alvarez. 

Antonio Tarver (Men’s Modern Category).  Tarver won the Olympic Bronze (representing the United States) in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1996 Olympics and went on to have a 31-6-1-1 record with 22 KOs.  Tarver won the WBA, WBC, IBF, and Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Titles and holds two wins over Roy Jones Jr.

Nigel Benn (Men’s Modern Category).  In England, Benn won the WBO Middleweight Championship and held the WBC Super Middleweight Championship for four years (1992-96).  He had a record of 42-5-1, with 35 KOs, and 11 successful title defences.

Naoko Fujioka (Women’s Modern Category).  Fujioka made history as the first Japanese five-division world champion (WBA Flyweight, WBC Minimumweight, WBO Junior Flyweight, WBA Super Flyweight, and WBO Bantamweight) and boasted a record of 19-3-1 with 7 KOs.

Jackie Nava (Women’s Modern Category).  Nicknamed the “Aztec Princess,” Nava was the former WBA Bantamweight Champion and was also a two-time WBA and WBC Super Bantamweight Champion.  She has a record of 40-4-4 with 16 KOs.

The Hall also selected four Non-Participants in Cut Man Russ Anber, Referee Frank Cappuccino, Trainer/Cut Man Jimmy Glenn, and Physician Dr. Edwin Homansky.  Journalist Kevin Iole and Broadcaster Alex Wallau were chosen in the Observer category, and American middleweight Jimmy Clabby in the Old Timer category.

The ceremony will take place on June 14.

We here at notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the incoming members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame has announced the class of 2025, which will include Manny Pacquiao, the only eight-division champion in the sport's history.

From the Philippines, Pacquiao amassed a record of 62-8-2 (39 KO), and the list of accolades is staggering:

WBC Flyweight Champion

Lineal Flyweight Champion

IBF Super Bantamweight Champion

The Ring Featherweight Champion

Lineal Featherweight Champion

The Ring Super Featherweight Champion

WBC Super Featherweight Champion

Lineal Super Featherweight Champion

WBC Lightweight Champion

The Ring Light Welterweight Champion

IBO Light Welterweight Champion

Lineal Light Welterweight Champion

WBA Welterweight Champion

WBO Welterweight Champion

Lineal Welterweight Champion

WBA Super Welterweight Champion

WBC Super Welterweight Champion

That is a lot of titles, isn’t it?

The men he beat are a who’s who of the lighter weights over the last thirty years, which include

Chatchai Sasakul

Juan Manuel Marquez

Erik Morales

Oscar Larios

Marco Antonio Barrera

David Diaz

Oscar De La Hoya

Ricky Hatton

Miguel Cotto

Joshua Clottey

Antonio Margarito

Shane Mosley

Timothy Bradley

Chris Algieri

Jessie Vargas

Adrien Broner

Keith Thurman

An icon in his native Philippines, Pacquiao was a former senator, a movie star, and one of the kings of pay per view.  His 2015 contest with Floyd Mayweather Jr set PPV records, generating over four million buys and 400 million in revenue.  Pacquiao is considered one of the best boxers of all time and is the undisputed headliner of this class.

The other inductees are:

Michael Nunn (Men’s Modern Boxers):  Nunn won the IBF Middleweight Championship in 1988 from Frank Tate and successfully defended it five times before dropping the strap to James Toney.  He later moved up in weight, winning the WBA Super Middleweight Championship from Victor Cordoba in 1992, and held that for three defenses before Steve Little took it from him in 1994.  Nunn was also the Lineal Champion in both Middleweight and Super Middleweight, with an overall record of 58-4 (38 KO).

Vinny Paz (Men’s Modern Boxers):  Born (and competed as) Vinny Pazienza, the orthodox stance boxer won the IBF Lightweight Title in 1987 by beating Greg Haugen, though he would lose it back to him in his first defense.  He later tried to win the Light Welterweight three times, but when he moved up in weight, he found success by winning the IBF and WBA Light Middleweight Titles.  Paz had a lifetime record of 50-10 (30 KO).

Yessica Chavez (Women’s Modern Boxers).  Chavez won the IBF Light Flyweight Title in 2011 and four years later captured the WBC Flyweight Title.  She had a record of 32-5-3 (4 KO).

Anne Sophie Mathis (Women’s Modern Boxers).  From France, Mathis was the WBA Super Lightweight Champion (2006-08), WBC Super Lightweight Champion (2008) and WBA Welterweight Champion.  She had a record of 27-4-1-1 (23 KO).

Mary Jo Sanders (Women’s Modern Boxers).  Sanders has a lifetime record of 25-1-1 (8 KO) and is a former WBC Female Super Lightweight and welterweight Champion.

Cat Davis (Trailblazer):  Davis fought in the late 70s and was the first woman to grace the cover of Ring Magazine.  She had a record of 12-0-1 (12 KO)

Kenny Bayless (Non-Participant).  Referee Kenny Bayless officiated many of the super fights from 2004 to 2020.

Al Garvin (Non-Participant).  Al Garvin enters the Hall as a highly respected cut man.

Harry Gibbs (Non-Participant).  From England, Gibbs was a long time referee and judge.

Ross Greenburg (Observer):  Greenburg was a top executive at HBO Sports, and was a massive part on boxing’s growth on the channel.

Randy Gordon (Observer):  Gordon is a long time boxing journalist and was the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission.

Rodrigo Valdez (Old-Timer).  The Colombian middleweight was a two-time Middleweight Champion in the 1970s who had a record of 63-8-2 (43 KO).

Owen Swift (Pioneer).  They went way back with this induction, as Swift was a Lightweight pugilist in the 1830s.  The Englishman had a record of 14-2.

Induction weekend will take place on June 5-8, 2025.