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New York State Boxing Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2019

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Sunday, April 28, Induction Dinner      

Don King, Jimmy Cannon, Jimmy Carter & Wilfredo Benitez
headline new inductees

NEW YORK (January 30, 2019) – The New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (NYSBHOF) has announced its 24-member Class of 2019. The eighth annual NYSBHOF induction dinner will be held Sunday afternoon (12:30-5:30 p.m. ET), April 28, at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York.

“We’re excited to continue honoring New Yorkers who helped boxing throughout the entire Empire State,” NYSBHOF president Bob Duffy said. “This year’s inductees did so much to help boxing in New York, whether they were fighters or non-participants. Our goal is to continue to honor New Yorkers in boxing for many more years.”

Living boxers heading into the NYSBHOF include (Bronx-born) three-time, two-division world champion Wilfredo Benitez (53-8-1, 31 KOs), Canastota welterweight Dick DiVeronica (44-13-1, 13 KOs), (Hempstead) WBO super featherweight world champion Rogelio Tuur (46-4-1, 30 KOs), (Bronx) 1968 U.S. Olympian Davey Vasquez (19-15, 6 KOs), WBO super middleweight world title challenger Michael Olajide (27-5, 19 KOs), of Manhattan, and Queens’ world heavyweight title challenger Monte Barrett (35-11-2, 20 KOs).

Posthumous participants being inducted are (Bronx) three-time lightweight world champion Jimmy Carter (84-31-9, 34 KOs), Brooklyn welterweight Al “Bummy” Davis (65-10-4, 46 KOs), (Schenectady) world welterweight champion Marty Servo (47-4-2, 14 KOs), (Bronx) world heavyweight title challenger Roland LaStarza (57-9, 27 KOs), Brooklyn world lightweight champion Paddy DeMarco (75-26-3, 8 KOs) and Manhattan’s Lower East Side lightweights Sid Terris (94-13-5, 12 KOs) and Leach “The Fighting Dentist” Cross (35-10-4, 22 KOs).

Living non-participants heading into the NYSBHOF are New York City-based promoter Don King, Flushing judge John McKaie, Brooklyn sportscaster Steve Albert, referee Arthur Mercante, Jr., and Bronx trainer Bob Jackson.

Posthumous non-participant inductees are Utica matchmaker Dewey Fragetta, Corona, Queens referee Johnny LoBianco, Garden City referee Wayne Kelly, Flushing sportsman Harry Hill, award-winning journalist Jimmy Cannon, of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and NYSAC official/former NABF president Joe Dwyer, of Brooklyn.

Each attending inductee (or direct descendant of) will receive a custom-designed belt signifying his or her induction into the NYSBHOF.

The 2019 inductees were selected by the NYSBHOF nominating committee members: Randy Gordon, Henry Hascup, Don Majeski, Ron McNair, and Neil Terens.

All boxers needed to be inactive for at least three years to be eligible for NYSBHOF induction, and all inductees must have resided in New York State for a significant portion of their boxing careers or during the prime of their respective career.

NYSBHOF

CLASS of 2012: Carmen Basilio, Mike McCallum, Mike Tyson, Jake LaMotta, Riddick Bowe, Carlos Ortiz, Vito Antuofermo, Emile Griffith, “Sugar” Ray Robinson, Gene Tunney, Benny Leonard, Tony Canzoneri, Harold Lederman, Steve Acunto, Jimmy Glenn, Gil Clancy, Ray Arcel, Nat Fleischer, Bill Gallo and Arthur Mercante, Sr.

CLASS of 2013: Jack Dempsey, Johnny Dundee, Sandy Saddler, Maxie Rosenbloom, Joey Archer, Iran Barkley, Mark Breland, Bobby Cassidy, Doug Jones, Junior Jones, James “Buddy” McGirt, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Bob Arum, Shelly Finkel, Tony Graziano, Larry Merchant, Teddy Brenner, Mike Jacobs, Tex Rickard and Don Dunphy.

CLASS OF 2014: Floyd Patterson, Tracy Harris Patterson, Billy Backus, Kevin Kelley, Juan LaPorte, Gerry Cooney, Mustafa Hamsho, Howard Davis, Jr., Lou Ambers, Jack Britton, Terry McGovern, Teddy Atlas, Lou DiBella, Steve Farhood, Gene Moore, Angelo Prospero, Whitey Bimstein, Cus D’Amato, William Muldoon and Tom O’Rourke.

CLASS OF 2015: Saoul Mamby, Joey Giamba, Johnny Persol, Harold Weston, Lonnie Bradley, Paul Berlenbach, Billy Graham, Frankie Genaro, Bob Miller, Tommy Ryan, Jimmy Slattery, Bob Duffy, Mike Katz, Tommy Gallagher, Bruce Silverglade, Charley Goldman, Jimmy Johnston, Cedric Kushner, Harry Markson, Damon Runyon and Al Weill.

CLASS OF 2016: Aaron Davis, Charles Murray, Vilomar Fernandez, Edwin Viruet, Hector “Macho” Camacho, Rocky Graziano, Rocky Kansas, Joe Lynch, Joe Miceli, Ed Brophy, Joe DeGuardia, Randy Gordon, Dennis Rappaport, Howie Albert, Freddie Brown, Howard Cosell, Ruby Goldstein and Jimmy Jacobs.

CLASS OF 2017: Gaspar Ortega, Renaldo “Mr.” Snipes, Doug Dewitt, “The Bronx Bomber” Alex Ramos, Dick Tiger, Jose Torres, “Nonpareil” Jack Dempsey, Don Majeski, Ron Katz, Stan Hoffman, Bobby Bartels, Hank Kaplan, Al Gavin, Arthur Donovan and Dan Parker.

CLASS OF 2018: Lou “Honey Boy” Del Valle, Jake Rodriguez, Terrence Alli, “Baby” Joe Mesi, Kid Chocolate, James J. “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, Jack McAuliffe, Billy Costello, Melio Bettina Ralph “Tiger” Jones, Charley Norkus, Dave Anderson, Pete Brodsky, Herb Goldman, Bobby Goodman, Melvina Lathan, Ron Scott Stevens, Johnnie Addie, Johnny Bos, Murray Goodman, Bert Randolph Sugar and Sam Taub.

Tickets are priced at $125.00 per adult and $60.00 for children (under 16) and include a complete brunch and cocktail hour upon entry, starting at 12:30 p.m. ET, as well as dinner (prime rib, fish or poultry) and open bar throughout the day. Tickets are available to purchase by contacting NYSBHOF president Bob Duffy at 516.313.2304 ordepcomish@aol.com. Ads for the NYSBHOF program are available, ranging from $80.00 to $200.00, by contacting Duffy. Go on line at www.Ring8ny.com for additional information about the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame.

ABOUT RING 8: Formed in 1954 by an ex-prizefighter, Jack Grebelsky, Ring 8 became the eighth subsidiary of what was then known as the National Veteran Boxers Association – hence, RING 8 – and today the organization’s motto remains: Boxers Helping Boxers.

RING 8 is fully committed to supporting less fortunate people in the boxing community who may require assistance in terms of paying rent, medical expenses, or whatever justifiable need. Go on line to www.Ring8ny.com for more information about RING 8, the largest group of its kind in the United States with more than 350 members. Annual membership dues is only $30.00 and each member is entitled to a buffet dinner at RING 8 monthly meetings, excluding July and August. All active boxers, amateur and professional, are entitled to a complimentary RING 8 yearly membership. Guests of Ring 8 members are welcome at a cost of only $7.00 per person. r

boxing, Showtime, Showtime Boxing

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® REPORTER JIM GRAY CALLS INDUCTION INTO INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME AN ‘UNLIKELY AND TREMENDOUS HONOR’

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Veteran Reporter Joins Former Play-By-Play Announcer Steve Albert As Sixth From SHOWTIME Sports® Since 2012 To Be Presented With Boxing’s Highest Honor

 

NEW YORK (June 11, 2018) – SHOWTIME Sports® veteran reporter Jim Gray was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday in Canastota, N.Y., joining former colleague and longtime SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING play-by-play announcer Steve Albert in receiving boxing’s most prestigious honor.

 

 

 

Gray and Albert became the fifth and sixth SHOWTIME Sports talent enshrined in the Hall of Fame since 2012. They join boxing analyst Al Bernstein (2012), ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. (2013), analyst and historian Steve Farhood (2017) and play-by-play announcer Barry Tompkins (2017).

 

 

 

In front of a large crowd that included close friends Mike Tyson, Don King, Deontay Wilder, Julius Irving, Jerry Richardson, Stedman Graham, Bob Costas and many others, the 59-year-old Southern California resident Gray reflected on 40-plus years of covering the sport of boxing. “My journey today has been an unlikely one,” Gray said during his induction speech. “The Boxing Hall of Fame immortalized all of these great fighters. So this magnificent honor comes with tremendous humility. How could this happen? I never took a punch.”

 

 

 

Gray, who started with SHOWTIME in 1994, was honored with a Special Individual Achievement Emmy Award – he currently has 12 Emmy’s in total – in 1997 for his interview of Mike Tyson following the heavyweight’s second loss to Evander Holyfield, the infamous “bite fight.” The National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association also named that interview the “Sports Broadcast Story of the Year.” Additionally, the American Sportscasters Association has voted Gray “Sportscaster of the Year” in 1998 and ‘99.

 

 

 

Gray chose Tyson to introduce him on Sunday during the induction ceremony. “It’s ironic,” said Gray. “The man who threatened to kill me in public is now inducting me into the Hall of Fame.”

 

 

 

“This award is way, way overdue,” an emotional Tyson said of his good friend. “I’m very proud of you. Well-deserved.”

 

 

 

With this past weekend’s induction ceremony, SHOWTIME Sports now boasts five current Hall of Famers featured on the network: Gray, Bernstein, Farhood, Tompkins and Lennon Jr.

 

 

 

“I am so pleased for Jim and Steve that they received this great honor,” said David Dinkins Jr., Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of SHOWTIME Sports. “Jim Gray’s interviews and reporting have been an integral part of our SHOWTIME telecast from the beginning. Because of his skills and instincts we have been able to cover the events in depth. There have been countless times that Jim’s dogged pursuit of a story has enabled us to paint the complete picture of the event.”

 

 

 

Gray has forged one of the most memorable sports broadcasting careers in recent history, which includes a deep boxing resume. Gray has worked more than 1,200 fights and interviewed over 1,500 fighters throughout his career, including 20 of his fellow Hall of Famers, such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and future Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and many others ringside.

 

 

 

Outside of the ring, Gray has covered nearly every sport and landed some of the industry’s most lucrative interviews, including sit-downs with Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady and Michael Jordan.

 

 

 

Albert spent two decades calling fights for SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. Albert called more than 300 fights during his tenure with SHOWTIME, including Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Greg Haugen in front of 130,000 fans at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Tyson-Holyfield I & II and the epic Corrales vs. Castillo series.

 

 

 

“Steve Albert’s incredible preparation and perfect timing were the reasons for his memorable fight calls,” Dinkins said. “Steve was the voice of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING through the high profile fights of the Tyson and Chavez eras. He will be forever linked to those shows which helped establish our network as a major broadcaster of boxing.”

 

 

 

Both Gray and Albert earned induction into the Observer category, which recognizes outstanding achievements of print and media journalists, publishers, writers, historians, photographers and artists.

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JIM GRAY AND STEVE ALBERT ELECTED TO INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME

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Veteran SHOWTIME Sports® Reporter Jim Gray and Former Play-By-Play Announcer Steve Albert Join 2018 Class Alongside Vitali Klitschko, Eric Morales and Ronald “Winky” Wright

 

 

SHOWTIME Sports veteran reporter Jim Gray and former, long-time play-by-play announcer Steve Albert were elected to the 2018 class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, it was announced by the Hall on Tuesday. 

 

Gray and Albert earned induction into the Observer category, which recognizes outstanding achievements of print and electronic media journalists, sportscasters, publishers, writers, historians, photographers and artists. Gray and Albert will join SHOWTIME Sports boxing analyst Al Bernstein (2012), ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. (2013), analyst and historian Steve Farhood (2017) and announcer Barry Tompkins (2017) in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.  

 

Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, four-division world champion Eric Morales and former undisputed super welterweight world champion Ronald “Winky” Wright headline the 2018 induction class. The newly elected class will be inducted during Hall of Fame Weekend June 7-10, 2018, in Canastota, N.Y.

 

“All of us at SHOWTIME Sports who have worked with Jim and Steve over the years are thrilled that they are receiving this well-deserved honor,” said David Dinkins Jr., Executive Producer, SHOWTIME Sports.  “Both were instrumental in building the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® franchise.  Jim’s interviews have become classic post-fight drama while Steve’s fight calls are integral to some of the most significant moments in boxing history.”

 

Gray has been a reporter for SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING since 1994, and has earned 11 Emmy Awards throughout his career, including one for his interview of Mike Tyson following the heavyweight’s infamous “bite fight” loss to Evander Holyfield. The National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association also named that interview the “Sports Broadcast Story of the Year.” Additionally, the American Sportscasters Association voted Gray “Sportscaster of the Year” in 1998 and 1999.

 

Throughout his four-decade career as a reporter, Gray has covered numerous Super Bowls, World Series, Olympics, NBA Finals and NCAA Final Fours, and has interviewed many of the most lauded sports figures of this era including Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, Pete Rose, Michael Jordan and many others. 

 

One of the most recognizable voices in sports, Albert joined SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING shortly after its inception in 1986. In a tenure that spanned over two decades, the world-famous broadcaster called over 300 title fights, including Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Greg Haugen in front of 130,000 fans at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, and Tyson-Holyfield I & II. In 2007, Albert received The Sam Taub Award for excellence in broadcast journalism by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

 

In addition to boxing, Albert spent 19 seasons covering the NBA, spending 13 of those years with the Nets, five with the Golden State Warriors and one with the New Orleans Hornets. Albert has also done play-by-play for the New York Mets, Jets, Islanders and Rangers, as well as the New Jersey Devils.  

 

The recognition by the International Boxing Hall of Fame is the result of a career’s worth of hard work and accomplishments for Gray and Albert.