Quote Originally Posted by Deanrw View Post
Quote Originally Posted by leftylee number 1 groupie View Post
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...