The 2016 Boxing Hall of Fame class
FILE – In this March 1, 1997 file photo, Hector “Macho” Camacho exults as referee Joe Cortez stops the fight with “Sugar” Ray Leonard in the fifth round in Atlantic City, N.J. The Puerto Rican who grew up on the dangerous streets of Spanish Harlem and became world champion in three divisions, was one of nine boxers entered into the Hall of Fame of International Boxing, on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. Camacho died at age 50 after he was shot in Puerto Rico in 2012. AP File Photo
CANASTOTA, N.Y., United States—A look at the nine people to be inducted in 2016 into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum:
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Hector “Macho” Camacho: Born May 24, 1962 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. A decorated amateur, Camacho sported a 96-4 record before turning pro in 1980. … captured WBC title in 1983 with a fifth-round KO over Rafael Limon. … added a second title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Jose Luis Ramirez in 1985 for WBC lightweight belt. … made successful title defenses against Edwin Rosario and Cornelius Boza-Edwards. …became a three-division champ with a 12-round split decision win over Ray Mancini for the WBO junior welterweight title in 1989. … after defenses over Vinny Paz and Tony Baltazar, lost and regained the belt in two 1991 bouts decided by decision with Greg Haugen. … retired in 2010 with a record of 79-6-3 (38 KOs). … holds wins over Roberto Duran (twice), Sugar Ray Leonard, Freddie Roach and Howard Davis Jr. … also fought Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya, dropping 12-round decisions. … died Nov. 24, 2012 in Bayamon at age 50.
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Article continues after this advertisementLupe Pintor: Born April 13, 1955 in Cuajimalpa de Morelos, Distrito Federal, Mexico. … turned pro in 1974 and worked his way up the bantamweight ranks, scoring knockouts over Roberto Alvarez, Willie Jensen, Orlando Amores and Tony Rocha, among others. … in 1979 scored a 15-round split decision over Carlos Zarate for the WBC bantamweight championship. .. had eight successful defenses, including wins over Alberto Sandoval, Johnny Owens, Alberto Davila, and Seung-Hoon Lee. … vacated his title to pursue a title at 122 pounds. … was stopped in the 14th round in 1982 title fight by WBC super bantamweight champion Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez. … in 1985 became a two-division titlist with a 12-round decision over Juan Meza for the WBC super bantamweight belt. … after losing the title to Samart Payakaroon iin 1986, was inactive for eight years before embarking on a brief comeback. … retired in 1995 with a pro record of 56-14-2 (42 KOs).
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Hilario Zapata: Born Aug. 19, 1958 in Panama City, Panama. … an agile southpaw, began boxing as an amateur in 1974 before making his professional debut in 1977. … unusually tall for a 108-pound boxer, the 5-foot-7 Zapata captured WBC light flyweight title in 1980 in 15-round decision over Shigeo Nakajima. … made eight successful title defenses before losing his title to Amado Ursua in 1982. … recaptured title from Tadashi Tomori and defended it two times before losing to Jung-Koo Chang in South Korea. … in 1984 unsuccessfully challenged Santos Laciar for WBA flyweight title. … won vacant WBA flyweight crown from Alonzo Gonzalez in 1985 and made five successful defenses of the 112-pound title, including 15-round wins over Shuichi Hozumi and Dodie Boy Penalosa. … lost title to Fidel Bassa in 1987 and drew in a rematch six months later. … lost his final fight on a first-round knockout to Sung-Kill Moon for the 1993 WBC super flyweight title. …competed in 24 world title bouts, compiling an impressive 18-5-1 championship record. … Retired with a pro record of 43-10-1 (15 KOs).
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Old-timer category:
Petey Sarron: Born Nov. 21, 1906 in Birmingham, Alabama. … turned pro in 1924 and maintained a steady pace to the featherweight championship with bouts against Memphis Pal Moore, Tommy Paul, Benny Bass, and California Joe Rivers. … dropped a 15-round decision to Freddie Miller for the 1936 NBA world featherweight title and two months later won the title in a 15-round rematch. … posted successful title defenses over Baby Manuel and Miller before losing the championship to Henry Armstrong on a sixth-round knockout in 1937. … continued to box two more years before hanging up his gloves in 1939 after a 10-round decision loss to Sammy Angott. … retired with a pro record of 102-23-12 (25 KOs) with 10 no-decisions. … died at age 87 on July 3, 1994 in Miami.
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Non-participant category:
Whitey Esneault: Born Ernest Esneault on Sept. 13, 1891 in New Orleans. … affectionately known as “Mr. Whitey” by the fighters he trained … ran St. Mary’s Italian Gym in the French Quarter for nearly 50 years. … his boxers were known for their exceptional footwork, including Ralph Chong, Bernard and Maxie Docusen, Tony Licata, Freddie Little, junior middleweight champion Ralph Dupas and Hall of Fame light heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano. … preferred to stay close to home in New Orleans, so he would often turn fighters over to other trainers and managers, notably among them Hall of Famer Angelo Dundee. A World War I Navy veteran, Esneault died Jan. 20, 1968 in New Orleans at age 76.
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Harold Lederman: Born Jan. 26, 1940. … developed a passion for boxing as a child when his father took him to matches at Long Beach Stadium and other New York fight venues. … in 1965 began judging amateur bouts to gain experience and in 1967 was granted a professional judge’s license from the New York State Athletic Commission. … judged over 100 championship bouts in three decades, including Emile Griffith vs. Dick Tiger II, Ken Buchanan vs. Ismael Laguna II, Roberto Duran vs. Esteban DeJesus I, Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III, Roberto Duran vs. Carlos Palomino, Eusebio Pedroza vs. Rocky Lockridge I, Michael Spinks vs. Larry Holmes I and Evander Holyfield vs. Dwight Qawi I. … in 1986 joined HBO World Championship Boxing’s broadcast team as an “unofficial” judge and remains in that capacity today. … retired as an active judge in 1999 to focus on his HBO duties full-time.
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Marc Ratner: Born July 25, 1944 in Phoenix and moved with his family to Las Vegas when he was 11. … a lifelong boxing aficionado, began working in boxing as an inspector for the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 1985. … in 1987 was named chief inspector and, following the death of executive director Chuck Minker, was named his successor in 1992. … served as director until 2006 when he resigned his post with the commission. … earned a reputation for his integrity, knowledge, competence and accessibility. … since leaving NSAC has worked as vice president of regulatory affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
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Observer category:
Jerry Izenberg: Born Sept. 10, 1930 in New York City. … graduated from Newark-Rutgers in 1952 and was employed at the Newark Star Ledger before enlisting in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. … after serving two years in Korea and Japan, was discharged and resumed his journalism career. … following a stint at the Paterson News, joined the staff of the New York Herald Tribune in 1959. … in August 1962 accepted an offer to write a sports column at the Star Ledger and stayed at the paper until retiring in 2007. … also created Sports Extra television show in the 1970s that ran for eight years. … has written several books, including Through My Eyes: A Sports Writer’s 58-Year Journey. … in 1978 was awarded the BWAA Nat Fleischer Memorial Award for excellence in boxing journalism. … still writes columns for the Star Ledger and resides in Henderson, Nevada.
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Col. Bob Sheridan: Born June 22, 1944 in Boston. Sheridan’s life-long love affair with boxing began as a youngster watching Friday Night Fights. … after graduating from the University of Miami, Sheridan broadcast nearly 5,000 Chris Dundee-promoted boxing matches from Miami in eight years at WGBS radio. … in 1972 transitioned to television and a contract with closed circuit giant Video Techniques. … in 1974 he began calling all international telecasts for Don King Productions. … known as the Colonel because of his rank in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. … has called more than 10,000 fights from more than 100 countries, including nearly 1,000 world title bouts and 100 heavyweight title fights. … in 1998 won the BWAA Sam Taub Award for “Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism.”
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