By Ivan G. Goldman
Every year I am honored to cast my votes as an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame & Museum in Canastota.
And every year it’s tough, because when I choose my five fighters for the Modern Era, I’m simultaneously making a decision to exclude all the other nominees. I comfort myself with the knowledge that some will win in subsequent years and possibly even this year – because of course I can be outvoted. Some deserving fighters, for one reason or another, will never make it in. But if everyone could gain entry, induction into the Hall wouldn’t be such an honor.
This year, selecting the final five for the Modern Era looks especially tough. I see at least ten fighters who ought to gain entry. This isn’t just about wins and losses either. It’s about determination, grit, and sometimes an indefinable something. No matter how I make my choices, I know someone might find a sound argument to challenge them.
Let’s face it. I’m also hobbled by ignorance. We all are, because none of us has seen all the fights of all the nominees. We have to be missing something important. But we do our best. I included the voting form, which you can view following this article so you’ll see exactly what electors are faced with.
This year, my Number One choice is evident to me. Riddick Bowe. What an exciting, talented heavyweight he was. Power in both hands, great speed, and not so easy to hit. Didn’t like to train much, but once inside the ring something happened to him. He’d rather die than lose. And he was up against men who felt the same. He finished his career with an outstanding record, 43-1 (33 KOs).
Every fighter, no matter how great, can be accused of ducking someone. That’s because there are always young guys coming up when they’re ready to step down, and they can’t get around to all of them. Rocky Marciano, for instance, was accused of ducking Floyd Patterson. Malarkey. Rocky decided it was time. If he’d defeated Patterson, he’d have been accused of dodging someone else.
![Bowe](https://www.boxinginsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Bowe-300x194.jpg)
In 1994 in Las Vegas I saw Riddick Bowe in against Larry Donald from Cincinnati. Donald was a solid, undefeated heavyweight on the way up, and it was no sure thing for either of them. A year earlier, Bowe had lost the title to the great Evander Holyfield by majority decision.
At the opening bell, Bowe and Donald circled warily, as fighters so often do at the start, each one wondering when the violence would begin. What I remember most about that bout was the first jab from Riddick. It was a telephone pole–straight, vicious, fast. Nothing followed, but it landed flush in Donald’s face, and Donald stepped back, startled. You could see he’d never been hit with a jab like that in his entire life. Not in the amateurs, not in sparring, not in pro competition. A fighter doesn’t want to show emotion, but for a very brief moment the expression on Donald’s face was one of horror. He realized he was up against something he’d never experienced.
Meanwhile a knowing smile slowly spread across Bowe’s face. He’d seen this before, had smiled that smile before under identical circumstances. All the pre-fight talk had become meaningless. That jab was the reality now.
Donald was a tough kid, and he finished the fight but lost just about every round. It was a terrible, wonderful thing to see. Bowe was never stopped in his career, not ever. Big Daddy Bowe was all Brooklyn. His only loss was to the great Holyfield, and he beat The Real Deal two out of three. So fighting in a tough era, Bowe, now 46, defeated every man he ever faced.
I guarantee you when he joins his brothers in Canastota, New York next summer, not one will suspect he made it there by mistake. He will be home.
![IBHOF2 001](https://www.boxinginsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IBHOF2-001.jpg)
New York Times best-selling author Ivan G. Goldman’s Sick Justice: Inside the American Gulag was released in 2013 by Potomac Books. Watch for The Debtor Class: A Novel from Permanent Press in spring, 2015. More information here.
![](https://www.boxinginsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/logo.png)
AlbertImipt
06/25/2024 at 5:10 am
pin up 306 https://azerbaijancuisine.com/# pin-up kazino
pin-up oyunu
Richardled
06/26/2024 at 11:07 am
mexico pharmacies prescription drugs [url=https://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican pharmacy online[/url] buying from online mexican pharmacy
Williamfrumn
06/26/2024 at 12:31 pm
mexican pharmaceuticals online: northern doctors pharmacy – mexico drug stores pharmacies
JeffreyMok
06/26/2024 at 5:49 pm
https://northern-doctors.org/# mexico drug stores pharmacies
Richardled
06/26/2024 at 6:24 pm
medication from mexico pharmacy [url=https://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican pharmacy northern doctors[/url] mexican rx online
Williamfrumn
06/27/2024 at 12:32 am
mexico pharmacy: mexican pharmacy – mexican pharmacy
JeffreyMok
06/27/2024 at 2:24 am
https://northern-doctors.org/# mexico pharmacies prescription drugs
Williamfrumn
06/27/2024 at 6:05 am
mexico drug stores pharmacies: mexican pharmacy – mexican mail order pharmacies
JeffreyMok
06/27/2024 at 8:23 am
https://northern-doctors.org/# mexican online pharmacies prescription drugs
Richardled
06/27/2024 at 11:05 am
reputable mexican pharmacies online [url=https://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican pharmacy online[/url] buying prescription drugs in mexico
Richardled
06/27/2024 at 8:03 pm
mexican pharmaceuticals online [url=https://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican pharmacy northern doctors[/url] purple pharmacy mexico price list
JeffreyMok
06/28/2024 at 5:04 am
https://northern-doctors.org/# mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa
Richardled
06/28/2024 at 5:06 am
mexico drug stores pharmacies [url=http://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican drugstore online[/url] purple pharmacy mexico price list
JeffreyMok
06/28/2024 at 7:41 am
https://northern-doctors.org/# best online pharmacies in mexico
JeffreyMok
06/28/2024 at 10:23 am
https://northern-doctors.org/# mexico pharmacies prescription drugs
Richardled
06/28/2024 at 2:06 pm
pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa [url=http://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican pharmacy northern doctors[/url] pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa
Richardled
06/28/2024 at 11:09 pm
buying prescription drugs in mexico [url=https://northern-doctors.org/#]mexican pharmacy[/url] mexican mail order pharmacies
Jeffreyber
06/29/2024 at 1:58 am
http://cmqpharma.com/# mexican border pharmacies shipping to usa
medication from mexico pharmacy
Stephenrhype
06/29/2024 at 4:21 pm
reputable mexican pharmacies online: cmq pharma – purple pharmacy mexico price list
DonaldBiono
06/29/2024 at 5:26 pm
medication from mexico pharmacy
https://cmqpharma.online/# buying from online mexican pharmacy
п»їbest mexican online pharmacies
Ronnienop
06/29/2024 at 11:31 pm
medication from mexico pharmacy [url=https://cmqpharma.com/#]mexican online pharmacy[/url] mexican mail order pharmacies
Davidtoows
07/20/2024 at 3:25 am
reputable indian pharmacies: indian pharmacy – best online pharmacy india
Michaelmoolo
07/20/2024 at 6:47 am
india online pharmacy: top 10 online pharmacy in india – best online pharmacy india
Davidtoows
07/20/2024 at 1:38 pm
india online pharmacy: Online medicine home delivery – Online medicine order
EdwardLoobe
07/20/2024 at 2:43 pm
https://canadapharmast.com/# cheap canadian pharmacy online
Michaelmoolo
07/20/2024 at 4:18 pm
best mail order pharmacy canada: prescription drugs canada buy online – online canadian drugstore
Davidtoows
07/21/2024 at 12:18 am
canada online pharmacy: canadian pharmacy antibiotics – reputable canadian pharmacy
Michaelmoolo
07/21/2024 at 1:06 am
indian pharmacy online: indian pharmacy – п»їlegitimate online pharmacies india
EdwardLoobe
07/21/2024 at 1:51 am
http://indiapharmast.com/# india online pharmacy
Davidtoows
07/21/2024 at 5:19 am
indian pharmacy: best online pharmacy india – india online pharmacy
Thomaskef
07/21/2024 at 11:45 am
https://amoxildelivery.pro/# amoxicillin pills 500 mg
Jamesjam
07/21/2024 at 4:53 pm
doxycycline 100mg generic: doxycycline south africa – buy doxycycline in usa
Thomaskef
07/21/2024 at 8:08 pm
http://paxloviddelivery.pro/# paxlovid covid
Thomaskef
07/22/2024 at 4:26 am
http://doxycyclinedelivery.pro/# doxycycline india
Jamesjam
07/22/2024 at 5:34 am
Paxlovid buy online: paxlovid buy – paxlovid price
Thomaskef
07/22/2024 at 12:20 pm
https://ciprodelivery.pro/# purchase cipro
Jamesjam
07/22/2024 at 6:08 pm
buy ciprofloxacin: cipro 500mg best prices – cipro 500mg best prices
Thomaskef
07/22/2024 at 8:05 pm
https://ciprodelivery.pro/# ciprofloxacin 500mg buy online
Thomaskef
07/23/2024 at 3:56 am
https://amoxildelivery.pro/# generic amoxicillin cost
Jamesjam
07/23/2024 at 6:53 am
medication doxycycline 100mg: buy 40 mg doxycycline – where to buy doxycycline in australia
Thomaskef
07/23/2024 at 11:01 am
http://doxycyclinedelivery.pro/# doxycycline online usa
Thomaskef
07/23/2024 at 6:53 pm
http://paxloviddelivery.pro/# paxlovid buy
Jamesjam
07/23/2024 at 7:29 pm
can you get clomid without a prescription: can i order clomid for sale – cheap clomid online
Thomaskef
07/24/2024 at 3:08 am
http://amoxildelivery.pro/# buy amoxicillin 500mg
Jamesjam
07/24/2024 at 8:20 am
Paxlovid over the counter: paxlovid generic – paxlovid covid