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By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
After a two-year hiatus, the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame returned to celebrate the sport in Las Vegas.
An amazing 27 former boxers and boxing contributors were set to be honored in the 2022 ceremony at at Resorts World Saturday evening.
Headlined by Las Vegan Floyd Mayweather Jr., the 2020 and 2021 classes were delayed from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event featured pound-for-pound and four-weight-division champion Roy Jones Jr.; pioneering female boxer and five-time world champion Mia St. John, and undefeated two-weight world champion Andre Ward.
Boxing is the common man’s sport. Michelle Corrales-Lewis, NVBHOF’s president: “It’s a sport you can watch with a beer in one hand and a remote in the other. It’s not pretentious at all.”
She noted, “Even though many fans root for fighters they know. Ones who come from their regions, countries, or small towns. When it comes to big time championship boxing, your hometown eventually becomes Las Vegas. Look at all of the champions we have honored in our Hall of Fame.”
Boxing’s Renaissance started in 1960 by relocating championship events from New York’s Madison Square Garden, to the then brand-new Las Vegas Convention Center. The Hall was founded in 2013 by noted boxing broadcaster Rich Marotta. The 2011 Southern California Sportscasters Hall of Fame honoree built the Nevada Hall charity organization that is Nevada-centric.
When LVSportsbiz.com spoke to undisputed cruiser and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, the Atmore, Alabama native emphasized the community focus of the Las Vegas-based organization. “Boxing is the greatest sports fraternity in the world. Very few athletes have ever done what we’ve experienced in this sport.”
In between signing autographs at a NVBHOF fans event held in a Resorts World ballroom Friday afternoon, the soon-to-be 60-year-old Holyfield added, “I’ve been all over the world, and Las Vegas will always be a special place no matter what when it comes to my boxing career.”
The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame celebrates its 10-year anniversary at a time when Las Vegas asserts itself as a leader in events and arenas. The sport of boxing remains part of the connective tissue to the city’s sports history. Before the Vegas Golden Knights, Raiders, and the Aces, there was boxing in this market. To this day, boxing events in Las Vegas brings out celebrities, officials, and sports team owners.
Mayweather retired in 2017 with a perfect 50-0 record. He’s currently part of 10 of the highest grossing fights in Las Vegas history.
Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao tops that list with $72,198,500.00. Reportedly, each fighter walked away with upwards of $300 million each for that mega event won by Mayweather.
Even with the big money swirling around high-profile fights and other sporting events in the city, Corrales – Lewis, widow of Diego Corrales, former WBC, WBO and IBF Lightweight World Champion, acknowledged the challenge of finding sources of financial support for the NVBHOF. The organization doesn’t have an official location in Las Vegas and is still in search of a featured sponsor.
“I knock on as many doors as I can,” she said. “With the rich history of boxing there has to be somebody in this city who can step up to make sure the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame can continue to do the good work we’ve been doing.”
One of the initiatives includes helping former boxers. We’re a charity organization dedicated to helping fighters with a lot of their needs both in and outside of the ring. Sometimes that’s rent money, because, let’s face it, many boxers can’t work a regular job while training.”
The biggest supporter of the NVBHOF is the boxing sanctioning body WBC led by Mauricio Sulaimán who is heavily involved in helping fighters get access to brain studies available through the Cleveland Clinic.
“We’re here to give these men and women one more round. A red carpet, great meal, and a night of celebration for everything they’ve sacrificed and the memorable moments they’ve given to our sport.”
The 2020 Induction Class is comprised of: Clarence Adams, Fernando Vargas, Andre Ward, Azumah Nelson, Danny Lopez, James Toney, Jose Luis Castillo, Julian Jackson, Mark Johnson, Miguel Cotto, Carlos Padilla, Jose Sulaiman, Lorenzo Fertitta, and Sammy Macias.
The 2021 Induction Class includes: Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones Jr.
The 2022 Induction Class includes: Kennedy McKinney, Vince Phillips, Iran Barkley, Ray Mercer, Michael Nunn, Israel Vazquez, Mia St. John, Gary Shaw, Jerry Izenberg, Hector Camacho, and Bob Foster.