International Boxing Hall of Fame 2011

This past weekend the IBHOF in Canastota, NY admitted boxers Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Kostya Tszyu; referee Joe Cortez; trainer Nacho Beristain; and filmmaker and actor Sylvester Stallone.

(l-r) Nacho Beristain, Julio Cesar Chavez, Sylvester Stallone, Kostya Tszyu, Mike Tyson, Joe Cortez

Some people were upset that Stallone, creator and lead actor of the "Rocky" movies, was allowed in.  Originally I was too, but upon seeing his induction video I changed my mind.

The Rocky chants and the "Go Adrian" made it worth his induction.  Either way, the others are all very deserving.  Tyson was a beast back in the day, as was Chavez (both on my all time p4p list); Kostya Tszyu was a hard-hitting beast who could still do damage in the ring today; Nacho Beristain has trained so many great champions, including the current top fighter Juan Manuel Marquez; and Joe Cortez is a referee legend.

All-in-all, it was a very good weekend at Canastota.

-JD