Why Should Arturo Gatti Be A Hall of Fame Candidate?
The highest honor any fighter can achieve is getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. It is an acknowledgment of their major accomplishments and legacy in the sport. However, two-divisional champion Arturo “Thunder” Gatti’s resume doesn’t scream Hall of Fame worthy.
The Hall of Fame has come under scrutiny over the years, as no one can explain the criteria for being inducted. One-time WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder may make it for having ten successful title defenses. Yet, outside of Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury, the rest were below-average contenders.
Then there is Ingemar Johansson, whose only achievement was defeating then-champion Floyd Patterson. Yet, he lost the title back to Patterson in the rematch and went back to fighting on the European circuit.
Gatti’s is worse when looking at who defeated him. Names like Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya are a given. But he took bad losses to Angel Manfredy, Ivan Robinson, and Mickey Ward. Yes, those fights were exciting considering Thunder loved going to war, but having a crowd-pleasing style shouldn’t be enough to get inducted.
In addition, former boxing juggernaut network HBO invented the Gatti Award for the most action-packed fight of the night in the 90’s. Many pundits feel that his abrupt death and HBO played a huge part in his induction.
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