The NFL Hall of Fame Voting Process Needs To Be Changed

By Ronald "RC" Cameron

Before I begin, I believe that the NFL is the best team sport in the world, even better than the NBA (And I LOVE the NBA) and for the most part, they do a great job of promoting their sport and making it better every year. But there is one thing that the NFL clearly can't seem to get right and that's the HOF (Hall of Fame) voting process. Currently, there are 44 voters, most of which never picked up a football in their lives and they meet every year and decide the fate of potential HOF candidates.

I have a HUGE problem with the HOF voting process and for many reasons.   As I mentioned earlier, most of the voters are sportswriters and  every year they all meet for 8-9 hours and determine who belongs into the Hall of Fame.

Also, there are NO HOF players or coaches that have a vote. Who would better determine who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame better than someone who owns the prestigious tan jacket?

And why is the process so private? If those 44 voters have a vote, they should be able to tell the world who they voted for and those players who were denied would then have the right to respond to them, voicing their displeasure.

And one last thing--I know HOF voters say that they don't consider what players have done off the field and they say that they don't hold grudges against players or coaches who have been less than "media friendly", but how do they explain why so many guys who were not always nice to the media get passed over every year? I'm going to list three guys who should have been voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. I'm not going to reveal their names right away, just their stats and accomplishments.


1.  When he retired, this wide receiver was second all-time in receptions (1101) and in touchdowns (130), he went to 8 straight Pro Bowls in an era filled with elite wide receivers (Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Sterling Sharpe, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens). He was a leader on the field and no wide receiver in the history of the NFL had a better set of hands.

2. This Defensive end played 12 seasons, he recorded 100.5 sacks, he was a 5 time Pro-bowler and he is the only player in NFL history who was on 5 Super Bowl teams.

3. This coach won 2 Super Bowls and led another team to another one. His assistant coaches went on to win a plethora of Super Bowls (Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Sean Payton) and he has rebuilt several failing franchises. 

Before I reveal those three guys, I have to ask one question: Based on their stats and accomplishments, did you consider them to be Hall of Fame worthy? The three guys I'm talking about are Cris Carter, Charles Haley and of course "The Big Tuna", Bill Parcells.

The Hall of Fame snub that has me in an up roar is Cris Carter, who has been denied for the last 5 years. Full disclosure: I'm a life-long Minnesota Viking fan and a fan of Carter's so I will admit I may have a blind spot where Carter is concerned, but still I believe he's being denied his rightful place into the Hall of Fame because as I stated, he was not always media friendly when he played.

Most NFL sports fans know about some of things Charles Haley was accused of doing in locker rooms and to those that don't know, Google his name.  And also, Bill Parcells was known for being somewhat abrasive to the media and I'm sure most of those sportswriters haven't forgotten how he treated some of them. Still, that should not prevent those guys from being entered into the Hall of Fame.

And since the Hall of Fame voters seem to be biased against players or coaches who did not grant those interviews or who berated them during interviews, I believe the voting process should be altered and expanded.



Here is my solution for improving the Hall of Fame voting process:

1. Given there are 32 teams in the NFL, give three Hall of Fame votes to three current Hall of Famers who played for those respective teams. For example, in Dallas, give a vote to Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Roger Staubach (or Troy Aikman). And if a team doesn't have anyone who's in the Hall of Fame,  give those votes to teams that have a large amount of Hall of Famers like Pittsburgh or San Francisco.

2. Make the HOF voting process public for all to see or just mail in the votes and add them up. It should not take 45 voters eight hours to decide on whether or not a guy should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Either you're a Hall of Famer, or you're not. Simple as that. 

3. Expand the number of modern day players/coaches from 5 to 8.  I know I mentioned Cris Carter as someone who has been snubbed, but there are other deserving players such as Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Andre Reed and many others. Expanding that number to 8 would help get those guys into the Hall of Fame. 

So there you have it. If you agree with my solution, or if you think the current voting process is fine, I want to  hear from you. 

RC's Greatest Light Heavyweights of All Time Part 2

By Ronald "RC" Cameron






Here is Part 2 of my top 5 Greatest Light Heavyweights of All Time article.  I hope you enjoy it.



3.  Gene Tunney











Professional Record: (According to Boxrec) 65-1-1 with 48 KO's


Credentials: He was almost unbeatable as a Light Heavyweight and he fought and beat several Hall of Fame caliber fighters.


Biggest wins: (As a Light Heavyweight) Battling Levinsky (UD 12) Harry Greb (UD 15) Georges Carpentier (TKO 15)


Now before I go on, I've only seen Tunney fight only a handful of times, but I've done my research on him and based on what he accomplished as a Light Heavyweight, he could have easily been ranked at the top of this list.  Gene Tunney was a smooth boxer, who used lateral movement, an accurate jab, good right hand and he was a decent counter-puncher.  He was a true technician who was also not afraid to mix it up with his opponents.

Born in New York, Tunney learned how to fight by getting into street fights when he was a young kid. He discovered boxing when he was in his teens and he turned pro in 1915 and he stopped Bobby Dawson in the 8th round.

After winning his first 36 fights, Tunney faced his first true test against future Hall of Famer, Battling Levinsky.  Tunney passed this test with flying colors, as he outpointed Levinsky over 12 rounds.

A few months later, Tunney took on the dangerous buzz saw, Harry Greb.  Tunney fought well early on, but as the fight progressed, Greb turned the fight into a pier six brawl, using his elbows and head as weapons, and Tunney sustained cuts over his eyes and his nose and mouth were also bleeding. Greb outworked Tunney in the late rounds and he won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Tunney.

Despite taking a vicious beating from Greb, Tunney wanted desperately to avenge his only defeat, but he also understood that he had to come up with a different strategy against the "Human Windmill" if he wanted to come out on top.  The two would face each other a year later and this fight was much different than their first encounter.

Instead of mixing it up with Greb as he did in their first fight, Tunney counter-punched him and tried to beat him to the punch. Greb was as dangerous as always, applying constant pressure every second of every round, but he could not inflict the same damage to Tunney as he did in their first fight.  Tunney won a controversial split decision over Greb and he avenged his only loss in his career. The two legends would fight 3 more times and Tunney got the upper hand, going 2-0-1 against Greb.

Tunney has also defeated other great fighters, such as Georges Carpentier (TKO 15) and Tommy Gibbons (KO 12).  And just as Michael Spinks did many years later, Tunney moved from the Light Heavyweight division and won the World Heavyweight title, defeating a Hall of Fame Champion (Jack Dempsey). Tunney never won the official Light Heavyweight title, but he defeated several former and future World champions when he was fighting in that division.  Tunney did not duck anyone in his entire career and he was a true champion inside and outside of the ring.





2. Archie Moore "The Old Mongoose"















Professional Record: *185-23-10 with 131 Knockouts *(According to Boxrec.com)


Credentials: Holds the record for most knockouts in a career, he fought 7 Hall of Famers and fought many of them more than once.


Biggest wins: Jimmy Bivins (KO 8) Joey Maxim (UD 15) Harold Johnson (TKO 14) Yvon Durelle (KO 11)


He might have been the greatest puncher in boxing history. He ruled the Light-Heavyweight division longer than anyone before him or since and didn't duck a soul. I could only be talking about Archibald Lee Wright,  better known as "The Old Mongoose", Archie Moore.

Born on December 13th, 1916(according to Archie) in Benoit, Mississippi, Moore was a kid who often could not escape trouble and when he was a teen, he ended up being sent to an reformatory. After being released in 1934, Moore discovered boxing and turned pro a couple of years later.

Now before I go on, there are a few things you need to know about Archie Moore's career and his birth date. First off, there are so many different versions of when Archie Moore started boxing professionally. There are some people who say he fought under an assumed name for a couple of years ("The Fourth of July Kid) and then you have boxrec.com who say that Archie turned pro in 1935. No one really knows for sure, but for the purpose of writing this article, boxrec.com is where I got my information and I'm going to ride with that.

Then you have the issue with his age. According to Archie, he was born on December 13th, 1916, but there are others who said that he was born on the same day, but in 1913. Fellow Hall of Famer, Sonny Liston had this same problem years later, so this is nothing new.

Nevertheless, Moore started boxing professionally in the mid-1930's, and for the next 5 years, he fought mostly as a Middleweight, fighting all around the US and he also toured in Australia. Along the way he suffered a few setbacks, but for the most part Moore was developing into a solid fighter who was capable of knocking guys out with either hand. He was also a very good counter-puncher and his crab-like defense made it tough for his foes to land a solid shot on him. 

After a brief retirement in 1941 due to stomach ulcers, Moore returned the following year and continued to fight often. Over the next 3 years, he took on future Hall of Famers Charley Burley and Jimmy Bivins. Moore lost to both of them, but he gained more experience and exposure in the process. 

In 1946, Moore moved up to the Light-Heavyweight division and he won his first three fights relatively easy against mediocre opponents before stepping up and facing his first true test against an elite fighter.  In his next fight, he faced Ezzard Charles in what would be the first of three fights.  Moore suffered a knockdown in the 8th round and and went on to lose a clear decision over the future Hall of Famer.

But Moore would not be discouraged.  He continued to fight elite opponents from that point on avenging his loss to Bivins, defeating Harold Johnson, Alabama Kid and many other top stars. He did lose to Charles on two more occasions, but by now it was clear that Moore deserved a shot at the Light-Heavyweight title.

Moore did everything possible to gain a title shot. He traveled around the world and campaigned in different towns, fighting local guys and after his fights, he would talk to reporters and issue a challenge to the champion, but for many years, champions ducked him. 

But in 1952, Moore finally received his well-deserved title shot against then-champion Joey Maxim, who was fresh off of a big win over the GREAT Sugar Ray Robinson winning a 14th round technical knockout when Robinson could not continue fighting due to heat prostration.  The 39 year old Moore took Maxim to school, hurting him several times with right hands and short, accurate punches. The fight went the distance and Moore won an easy decision and finally won the Light-Heavyweight championship.

Moore held on to the title for 10 years and he never lost his title in the ring, which is amazing considering he was 39 years old when he won the title.  Yet like Bob Foster and so many other Light-Heavyweights, Moore also wanted to become the Heavyweight Champion of the world. In 1955, he took on Heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in what turned out to be Marciano's last fight. The Old Mongoose managed to knock down the iron-jawed Marciano early in the fight with a beautiful, counter right hand, but Rocky recovered and went on to stop Moore in the 9th round.

A year later, Moore received another crack at the title when he took on Floyd Patterson for the vacant Heavyweight title (due to Marcaino retiring undefeated). Moore fought well early on, but the much younger Patterson was just too fast for Moore and he was knocked out in the 5th round. And despite suffering those setbacks, Moore still ruled the Light-Heavyweight division with an iron fist during those 10 years. 

So why is Moore not the number one Light-Heavyweight of all time? Based on what he accomplished in that division,Moore was the greatest Light-Heavyweight "champion" of all time, there is no debate about that.  But in this particular article, I ranked the greatest "Light-Heavyweights" of all time, meaning I'm basing this on who was the best fighter who ever fought in that division. 

Archie Moore will go down in history as one of the hardest punchers of all time and one of the most craftiest technicians to ever lace them up. And while Bernard Hopkins is making a strong case, no one performed better after the age of 40 than the "Old Mongoose" Archie Moore.





1. Ezzard Charles "The Cincinnati Cobra"

Professional record: 93-25-1 with 52 KO's


Credentials: While he never challenged for the Light-Heavyweight title, he beat 4 Former Light-Heavyweight Champions. 


Biggest wins: Teddy Yarosz (UD 10) Joey Maxim (UD 10) Archie Moore (KO 8)  Jimmy Bivins (KO 4) Lloyd Marshall (KO 2)




Before I get started,  I'm well aware of the fact that Ezzard Charles did not win the Light-Heavyweight title. So why is the the Greatest Light-Heavyweight of all-time?  As I said earlier, this was a tough decision, but after doing the research, I could not vote any other way.

Born in Lawrenceville, Georgia on July 7th, 1921, Charles won several amateur championships, including two Golden Gloves titles in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. Charles was a complete fighter, who could out-box you or fight flat-footed and brawl.  Nicknamed the "Cincinnati Cobra"  Ezzard turned professional in 1940 as a Middleweight and he won his first 15 fights before losing his first fight to the more experienced Ken Overlin.

Charles regrouped and continued to fight tough opposition.  And keep in mind, this took place early in Ezzard's career.  Most young fighters were brought along slowly, but not Ezzard Charles.  After losing to Overlin, Charles won his next two fights before taking on Charley Burley.  Even though Burley was much more experienced, Charles dominated him from the opening bell and he won a clear decision over the future Light-Heavyweight champion. They fought again a month later and once again the Cincinnati Cobra proved to be too much for Burley and he won another unanimous decision.

Charles kept fighting tough opponents, beating Joey Maxim twice, he lost to Jimmy Bivins and Lloyd Marshall in his next two fights but he continued on. After winning his next 7 fights, he took on the legendary Archie Moore on May 20th, 1946.  Charles dropped Moore in the 8th round with a body shot and went on to win a lop-sided decision over the Old Mongoose.

Charles fought on and he avenged his losses to Lloyd Marshall and Jimmy Bivins, beating Marshall twice and Bivins on 4 different occasions. He also fought Moore two more times and won them both, stopping Moore in the 8th round in their third and final encounter. After disposing of Moore, Ezzard was at the top of his game, but nothing could prepare him for what was ahead of him in his next fight.

A month later, Charles fought a relatively unknown fighter named Sam Baroudi. For the first 5 rounds, Sam was very competitive but Charles took command of the fight in the middle rounds and went on to knock out Baroudi in the 10th round. Sadly, Baroudi died from injuries he sustained from his fight with Charles.

This tragedy devastated Charles and he considered retiring after this but after doing some soul searching,  he continued fighting a few months later. After failing to receive a shot at the Light-Heavyweight title (Champions ducked him), he moved up to the Heavyweight division in 1948. A year later, he took on the crafty Jersey Joe Walcott for the vacant NBA Heavyweight title (The World title was vacated because Joe Louis retired as champion). Charles won a hard-fought decision over Walcott and finally won his first world title but many boxing fans did not consider him the true champion because Louis never lost his title in the ring.

A year later, Louis came out of retirement and challenged Charles for his title and the winner would be recognized as the true World Heavyweight champion. This fight was a total mismatch. Louis looked like a shell of his former self and Charles dominated from start to finish. Charles won a unanimous decision over Louis and was now recognized as the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world.

Charles went on to do more great things, but he was never quite the same fighter after the Baroudi tragedy. Before that unfortunate incident,  Charles was a deadly puncher who always looked for the knockout when his opponents were in trouble, but after this tragedy Charles still had his share of knockouts, but he lost some of his ferociousness and he would often take it easy on guys once he hurt them (as he did with Louis).

So why did I rank Charles number one over Moore?  As I mentioned earlier, this was a TOUGH decision but I had to look at both of their careers and compare them.  Both Charles and Moore fought and beat several Hall of Fame fighters, some of which were the same opponents (Joey Maxim, Harold Johnson, Jimmy Bivins, Lloyd Marshall and others) and they fought them several times.

The one thing that Moore has over Charles is the fact that he won the Light-Heavyweight title and he held it for over many years, but let's be honest--Moore received his shot at the world title when he was 39 years old because the people who controlled boxing at that time (The MOB) did not believe Moore would win the title at that age and Ezzard Charles did not receive his title shot because champions flat out ducked him.

The tie-breaker for me came down to what happened when those two faced each other. Charles and Moore fought 3 times and Charles dominated him all three times and those fights took place when they were both young and in their prime. If Charles would not have moved up to Heavyweight in 1948, do you believe  Archie Moore would have been champion for 10 years?  I don't believe so. So with all that being said, I could not rank Moore or anyone else ahead of the Cincinnati Cobra,  Ezzard Charles.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen.  Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think. Let the debates begin!!

RC's Top 5 Greatest Light Heavyweights Of All Time Part 1

By Ronald "RC" Cameron

What I love about boxing is the fact that there are so many topics to debate and discuss with friends and this one is no different. In this article, I go back in time and rank the 5 Greatest Light-Heavyweights of All-time.  


I've ranked the top 5 Heavyweights and Middleweights last year at BoxingIQ.com and those articles were broken down into 2 parts and I will stick with that formula.  What I can guarantee is there will be a lot of content filled with research and facts that support each of my picks. 

Before I begin, let me explain how I rank fighters:

Quality of opposition: To me, this is the most important element when comparing fighters.  If you have fought and beat primed, hall of fame-caliber fighters, then chances are you will be on this list.

Lengthy World title reign: Also important, but it depends on who you beat during your long title reign.  For example, former Light Heavyweight king, Dariusz Michalczewski unified the titles and he had a very long title reign, but he did not beat any great, hall of fame caliber fights during his title reign and he was not even the best Light heavyweight in the world when he was champion.  At that time, Roy Jones was the best fighter in the world and due to the fact that Dariusz demanded that the potential fight had to be held in Germany and Jones refused to fight him over there, the two could not come to terms. With that said, you won’t see Dariusz in my top 5 due to the lack of quality wins against elite fighters. 

  

5. Bob Foster

Professional record: 56-8-1 with 46 KO's

Credentials: Light Heavyweight Champion from 1968-1974

Biggest wins: Dick Tiger (KO 4), Mike Quarry (KO 4)

He stood 6'3 which was rare for a Light-Heavyweight, he had a tremendous left jab and could knock you out cold with either hand. The Albuquerque, New Mexico resident had a decent amateur career, winning a Silver medal at the 1959 Pan American games. 

Foster turned pro in 1961 and while he was successful fighting as a Light-Heavyweight, he often fought Heavyweights and he suffered some setbacks, losing to Doug Jones (the same Doug Jones who gave Muhammad Ali a close shave early in his career) Ernie Terrell and Zora Foley, but that did not discourage him one bit.

  
After losing to Foley, Foster focused on fighting mostly Light-Heavyweights and he destroyed everyone that was in his path before finally getting an opportunity to fight for the championship against champion, Dick Tiger on May 24th, 1968.  Foster made the most of his opportunity and he destroyed Tiger, knocking him out in the 4th round, winning the Undisputed Light Heavyweight title.
Foster would not lose his titles in the ring ( He was stripped of the WBA title in 1970 but he won it back 2 years later) and he held the title for 6 years, beating contenders such as Mike Tessman, Mike Quarry and Pierre Fourie.

 

But as great as Foster was as a Light Heavyweight champion, his ultimate dream was to become the Heavyweight champion of the world.  He finally received his chance against champion Joe Frazier in 1970 and while he had a decent first round, Foster fell victim to Frazier's famous left hook and was knocked out in the second round. 

He also took on Muhammad Ali 2 years later and while he became the first and only man to ever cut Ali, he was knocked down 7 times and was finally knocked out in the 8th round.  No shame in losing to the greatest Heavyweight of all time.

But this about Foster's career as a Light-Heavyweight and he was one of the most dominant, hard-hitting champions of all time. He fought only one Hall of Fame Light-Heavyweight (Tiger) but he destroyed almost every Light Heavyweight he faced.  What a great career.

4. Michael Spinks















Professional record: 31-1 with 21 KO's

Credentials: 1976 Olympic Middleweight Gold Medal, Unified the Light Heavyweight title

Biggest wins: Marvin Johnson (KO 4), Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (UD 15), Dwight Muhammad Qawi (UD 15)

This was a tough pick for me because I followed his entire professional career and I could have easily put him higher on this list.  The pride of St. Louis, Missouri and younger brother of former Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks, Michael had an outstanding amateur career, going 93-7 and he was a part of the most dominant, most successful Olympic team of all time in 1976, winning the Middleweight Olympic Gold Medal that year.

Spinks turned pro the following year and unlike his brother, he was brought along slowly and he developed into a complete fighter. After winning his first 15 fights, he was matched against former Light-Heavyweight champion Marvin Johnson. Spinks had a rough time with Johnson but in the 4th round, Spinks landed a devastating left hook/uppercut that sent Johnson crashing to the canvas. Johnson was out cold, no need for the referee to count and Spinks put the boxing world on notice by knocking out Johnson and proving that he was now ready to fight for the title.

Spinks did receive his opportunity in his next fight, against the WBA Champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.  Dealing with a injured back and having to lose the weight after fighting in his previous fight as a Heavyweight, Eddie fought a courageous battle, but in the end, he was no match for the younger challenger and Michael Spinks became the new WBA Light-Heavyweight champion of the world, winning a 15 round (boy do I miss 15 round fights!) unanimous decision.

But Spinks would not stop there. He won his first 5 title defenses by KO yet there was another man who held one of the belts and on March 18th, 1983, he was matched against the WBC Light Heavyweight king and future Hall of Famer, Dwight Muhammad Qawi but before this fight took place, tragedy struck as Spinks suffered a fatal blow as his wife lost her life in a fatal car accident 2 months before the fight.

It would have been entirely understandable if Spinks would have postponed the unification title fight, but instead, Spinks dedicated this fight to his wife and he fought one of his best fights of his career against Qawi as he out-boxed him and won a clear decision and the unified Light Heavyweight championship of the world. An amazing display of mental toughness and resolve by Spinks, who proved once again that he was the best Light Heavyweight on the planet. 

Spinks went on to defend the world title 4 more times before finally leaving the division and making history by becoming the first man ever to move up from Light-Heavyweight to Heavyweight and win the world title by defeating the legendary Larry Holmes over 15 hard-fought rounds. 

We all know what Spinks accomplished when he was a Heavyweight champion, but as a Light-Heavyweight, he was a GREAT fighter who was capable of knocking you out with his "Spinks Jinx" right hand, or he could simply box your ears off and frustrate his opponents with his unorthodox defense.

Spinks took on all comers as a Light-Heavyweight, a Hall of Famer (Qawi) and some great former champions (Marvin Johnson, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad).  It's too bad that he never faced Matthew Saad Muhammad and they almost did meet back in the early 80's after Spinks knocked out Johnson, but as great as Saad Muhammad was, he was starting to slow down and I'm not so sure that he would have fared too well against Spinks at that point. 

If you rank Spinks based on boxing ability alone, he would be closer to the top of my list, but due to the fact that he didn't face as many primed, hall of famers, I can't rank him ahead of the guys who are ahead of him. But overall, Michael Spinks was one of my favorite fighters to watch when he was a Light-Heavyweight and he was a complete fighter.


As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, this will be broken down into two parts. I will reveal the remaining 3 fighters in Part 2 of my article real soon. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of the article, my new blog and whatever else you have on your mind.