The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots created through screened public nominations by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The IBHOF started as a 1980s initiative by Ed Brophy and other locals to honor Canastota's world boxing champions, Carmen Basilio and Basilio's nephew, Billy Backus; the village of Canastota inaugurated the new museum in 1989 which showcases boxing's rich history.[1][2] It is visited by boxing fans from all over the world.
An earlier hall had been created in 1954, when The Ring magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame was launched, located at Madison Square Garden in New York City. When that Boxing Hall of Fame was disbanded in 1987, it had a total of 155 inductees. As of November 2018[update], all but 13 of those 155 have also been inducted to the IBHOF. Beginning in 2020, the IBHOF began inducting female boxers for the first time since its inception.[3]
The IBHOF is one of two recognized Boxing Halls of Fame with the other being the World Boxing Hall of Fame (WBHF), with the IBHOF being the more widely recognized institution.
Ceremonies have been held every second Sunday in June since 1990 to honor inductees but were postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.[4] Events are attended by many former world boxing champions, as well as boxing and Hollywood celebrities. Artist Richard T. Slone has been the official artist of the IBHOF since 1997, creating portraits of inductees and other works for the Hall.
Professional boxers become eligible for election into the International Boxing Hall of Fame three years after their retirement (previously used to be five years before 2019). Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an international panel of boxing historians, based on criteria in five separate categories:
Records per ibhof.com unless otherwise stated.
