Is Arturo Gatti Hall of Fame worthy ??

[ICB]

No he isn't everytime he stepped up against the elite he lost, his most exciting fights were against lower class opposition. Just because he was an exciting fighter means nothing.

Because if thats the case then any exciting fighter should be in the HOF. I think the HOF should be for great fighters who beat great fighters, or made many title defenses or whatever they did great to make them a HOF fighter.

Arturo Gatti i hate to say it was a good fighter but thats it, he was never close to being elite in his division. And he never beat a great fighter.

[Deanrw]

No he isn't everytime he stepped up against the elite he lost, his most exciting fights were against lower class opposition. Just because he was an exciting fighter means nothing.

Because if thats the case then any exciting fighter should be in the HOF. I think the HOF should be for great fighters who beat great fighters, or made many title defenses or whatever they did great to make them a HOF fighter.

Arturo Gatti i hate to say it was a good fighter but thats it, he was never close to being elite in his division. And he never beat a great fighter.

See you are confusing the Hall Of Fame with the Hall Of Skill. Did Arturo make an impact on the sport? He sure did.

He is a two time world champion, who was involved in the most exciting fights of his era. He basically carried the sport for quite a while. He is known as the Human Highlight Reel for a reason. It is not always about being the "elite". He is and will always be larger than life. He brought so many fans to the sport. In 30 years from now, people will talk about him more than the "elites" that shared the ring with him.

The HOF is there as a token. It is there to recognize not only achievements, but also gives credit to anyone who respected the sport, promoted the sport to new heights and gave every ounce they could.

Name any current fighter who has given more to the sport? I cannot think of any.

[kingfrnk]

No he isn't everytime he stepped up against the elite he lost, his most exciting fights were against lower class opposition. Just because he was an exciting fighter means nothing.

Because if thats the case then any exciting fighter should be in the HOF. I think the HOF should be for great fighters who beat great fighters, or made many title defenses or whatever they did great to make them a HOF fighter.

Arturo Gatti i hate to say it was a good fighter but thats it, he was never close to being elite in his division. And he never beat a great fighter.

See you are confusing the Hall Of Fame with the Hall Of Skill. Did Arturo make an impact on the sport? He sure did.

He is a two time world champion, who was involved in the most exciting fights of his era. He basically carried the sport for quite a while. He is known as the Human Highlight Reel for a reason. It is not always about being the "elite". He is and will always be larger than life. He brought so many fans to the sport. In 30 years from now, people will talk about him more than the "elites" that shared the ring with him.

The HOF is there as a token. It is there to recognize not only achievements, but also gives credit to anyone who respected the sport, promoted the sport to new heights and gave every ounce they could.

Name any current fighter who has given more to the sport? I cannot think of any.

hmm i was gonna say that. but gatti is HOF for sure he is a well known fighter he gave it all he had and even if he did lose his big fights against ivan robinson, ODLF, and PBF etc he will still be remembered a warrior in the ring and thats is wats gonna get him in the HOF.

[RozzySean]

Gatti was an outstanding fighter at 130. At that weight, he had skill, speed, and great power. At that weight, he didn't lose when he stepped up. He beat Tracy Paterson twice and Gab Ruelas. That's not HoF material, but at the time, he was one of the best SFW's in the world. He started losing when he stepped up in weight. He still managed to grab a belt at LWW, and he gave us some of the best battles we've seen in the last 10 years.

Two division champion. Made fights that helped keep boxing relevant. He gets my vote.

[Dizaster]

No he isn't everytime he stepped up against the elite he lost, his most exciting fights were against lower class opposition. Just because he was an exciting fighter means nothing.

Because if thats the case then any exciting fighter should be in the HOF. I think the HOF should be for great fighters who beat great fighters, or made many title defenses or whatever they did great to make them a HOF fighter.

Arturo Gatti i hate to say it was a good fighter but thats it, he was never close to being elite in his division. And he never beat a great fighter.

See you are confusing the Hall Of Fame with the Hall Of Skill. Did Arturo make an impact on the sport? He sure did.

He is a two time world champion, who was involved in the most exciting fights of his era. He basically carried the sport for quite a while. He is known as the Human Highlight Reel for a reason. It is not always about being the "elite". He is and will always be larger than life. He brought so many fans to the sport. In 30 years from now, people will talk about him more than the "elites" that shared the ring with him.

The HOF is there as a token. It is there to recognize not only achievements, but also gives credit to anyone who respected the sport, promoted the sport to new heights and gave every ounce they could.

Name any current fighter who has given more to the sport? I cannot think of any.

I think those are some of the key points that can't be ignored when looking for an answer to this thread... By that I would say that yes he should be in...
Can you think of some recent heavyweight champs who have (statistically) 'career and achievement wise' equaled what Gatti achieved, but aren't worthy of Hall of Fame??

It brings light to the fact the hall of fame can't just be about statistical achievement, but also about bringing a quality to the sport that not many people have, and letting it hang out there in the best possible way.. And Gatti got to that 80% level of what can be achieved in boxing.. How many people get to that level and never make it to that A+ class, but leave us with as much as Gatti did? Pretty much no one...

[Dizaster]

He came through the ranks, and left us a legacy.. A legacy that may not have quite reached the top rungs, or achieved as much as some of those 1% fighters that do. But what he brought during the time the spotlight was on him, was up there with most boxers who have past and present been acknowledged as HOF material...

[holmcall]

No he isn't everytime he stepped up against the elite he lost, his most exciting fights were against lower class opposition. Just because he was an exciting fighter means nothing.

Because if thats the case then any exciting fighter should be in the HOF. I think the HOF should be for great fighters who beat great fighters, or made many title defenses or whatever they did great to make them a HOF fighter.

Arturo Gatti i hate to say it was a good fighter but thats it, he was never close to being elite in his division. And he never beat a great fighter.

See you are confusing the Hall Of Fame with the Hall Of Skill. Did Arturo make an impact on the sport? He sure did.

He is a two time world champion, who was involved in the most exciting fights of his era. He basically carried the sport for quite a while. He is known as the Human Highlight Reel for a reason. It is not always about being the "elite". He is and will always be larger than life. He brought so many fans to the sport. In 30 years from now, people will talk about him more than the "elites" that shared the ring with him.

The HOF is there as a token. It is there to recognize not only achievements, but also gives credit to anyone who respected the sport, promoted the sport to new heights and gave every ounce they could.

Name any current fighter who has given more to the sport? I cannot think of any.

I think those are some of the key points that can't be ignored when looking for an answer to this thread... By that I would say that yes he should be in...
Can you think of some recent heavyweight champs who have (statistically) 'career and achievement wise' equaled what Gatti achieved, but aren't worthy of Hall of Fame??

It brings light to the fact the hall of fame can't just be about statistical achievement, but also about bringing a quality to the sport that not many people have, and letting it hang out there in the best possible way.. And Gatti got to that 80% level of what can be achieved in boxing.. How many people get to that level and never make it to that A+ class, but leave us with as much as Gatti did? Pretty much no one...

Holmes

[holmcall]

One of the problems is that the so-called experts who vote are too young to really remember some of the guys who deserve to get in. Also, they keep the process secretive so that the criteria remain unknown. If we knew what the standards were, we could make a better judgement on this. I know a number of people who are voters and believe me when I say this, many of the posters here and on other good sites know more about boxing and boxing history than the writers who vote. I no longer pay much attention to what they do there. I just enjoy going there and having a good time every June. But I do support the heck out of the Hall financially speaking. IT'S FOR A GOOD CAUSE AND IT PUTS MY MONEY WHERE MY MOUTH IS. That is all on this subject except to say that many of the posts have me reconsidering Gatti's worthiness.

[Kel]

One of the problems is that the so-called experts who vote are too young to really remember some of the guys who deserve to get in. Also, they keep the process secretive so that the criteria remain unknown. If we knew what the standards were, we could make a better judgement on this. I know a number of people who are voters and believe me when I say this, many of the posters here and on other good sites know more about boxing and boxing history than the writers who vote. I no longer pay much attention to what they do there. I just enjoy going there and having a good time every June. But I do support the heck out of the Hall financially speaking. IT'S FOR A GOOD CAUSE AND IT PUTS MY MONEY WHERE MY MOUTH IS. That is all on this subject except to say that many of the posts have me reconsidering Gatti's worthiness.

I know, you can't argue with any of the posts saying he should be in there. Gatti-Ward 1 is one of the best fights I have ever seen and probably will ever see.

[Spicoli]

One of the problems is that the so-called experts who vote are too young to really remember some of the guys who deserve to get in. Also, they keep the process secretive so that the criteria remain unknown. If we knew what the standards were, we could make a better judgement on this. I know a number of people who are voters and believe me when I say this, many of the posters here and on other good sites know more about boxing and boxing history than the writers who vote. I no longer pay much attention to what they do there. I just enjoy going there and having a good time every June. But I do support the heck out of the Hall financially speaking. IT'S FOR A GOOD CAUSE AND IT PUTS MY MONEY WHERE MY MOUTH IS. That is all on this subject except to say that many of the posts have me reconsidering Gatti's worthiness.

Right,I also think alot of it is the "seeing is believing" mind set.It is a U.S based entity afterall.The Asian greats you listed for example.Here in the States when many of them were coming through, it was hard to see them,rare exposure in general.I only found Chang (fearless great Imo),Arbachakov,Kittakasem (Gatti-Esq ??),Yuh (should be a lock H.O.F'r) through trading tapes and it was like finding an entirely new world of "mystery" top flight fighters....literally.

Also the old-timers in the H.O.F as they sit today.We can not really debate A Harry Grebs skill set as As far as I know no footage exist.But from everything I read and discussed in Interviews he was hardly a masterful top skill for skill fighter.But no lack of pure excitement and unbridled fury.Alot of those guys back then transcended the sport and the ring.

That being said.....If Paz gets in,Im canceling my account and taking up table tennis .

[holmcall]

Agreed on that Paz comment!