LARRY MERCHANT IN BOXING HALL OF FAME
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 10 Dec 2008
The respected HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant who first broached the idea of a fight between Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao and the ?Golden Boy? Oscar De La Hoya is among the newest class of inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
He will be joined by heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, bantamweight champion Orlando Canizales, junior lightweight champion Brian Mitchell, matchmaker/publicist/promoter Bob Goodman, Japanese businessman-sportsman and promoter Akihiko Honda and British journalist Hugh McLlvaney.
In his initial reaction to the honor, Merchant said ?Television is the medium of show and tell. The show, meaning the fighters, are the most important by far. I?m just one of the tellers and I am deeply honored to be a footnote of all the great fighters that are in the Hall of Fame.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said in a post-fight comment that "if not for Larry this fight (Pacquiao vs De La Hoya) would not have happened. There was an added glow in Merchant's eyes as he interviewed Pacquiao on the HBO telecast since he had also said that if Pacquiao managed to avoid De La Hoya's big shots in the first four or five rounds he would win ... and he did.
Bob Goodman who worked with Don King and handled the publicity for the ?Thrilla in Manila? between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and returned to Manila last November for the WBC Convention said ?As someone who has found boxing irresistible since my earliest days, I consider my inductions into the International Boxing Hall of Fame one of the greatest honors of my career in journalism.?
Boxing Hall of Fame executive director Edward Brophy said ?We?re extremely excited about the Class of 2009 and very much looking forward to honoring the 20th class of inductees. All living inductees are anticipated to attend and participate in 2009 Hall of Fame Week and festivities scheduled from June 11-14 in Canastota, New York.
An impressive celebrity lineup of boxing greats of yesterday and today will attend the year?s induction weekend with the Official Enshrinement Ceremony on the Hall of Fame Museum Grounds in New York on June 14.
The Hall of Fame also released the names of posthumous honorees including middleweight champion William ?Gorilla? Jones, welterweight champion ?Mysterious? Billy Smith and middleweight champion Billy Soose.
Also to be honored are manager Billy Gibson and commissioner Abe Greene, journalist Paul Gallico and Tom Hyer in what was termed the Pioneer Category.
Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association and a panel of international historians.
Two Filipino boxers, flyweight champion Pancho Villa and world junior lightweight champion Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde as well as his father-in-law, promoter Lope ?Papa? Sarreal have all been inducted into the BHOF while Ring Magazine editor-in-chief Nigel Collins a few years ago said that Ceferino Garcia famous for his ?bolo punch? should also be honored and that he would work for his induction.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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