Gennadiy Golovkin, Antonio Tarver, Nigel Benn elected to Boxing Hall of Fame

Gennadiy Golovkin, the power puncher who made a record-tying 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses, was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Thursday.

Former champions Antonio Tarver and Nigel Benn are the other headline names in the class that will be enshrined in the museum in Canastota, New York. The ceremony is scheduled for June 14, 2026.

Golovkin was elected in his first year on the ballot in voting by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.

The native of Kazakhstan went 42-2-1 with 37 KOs. After earning his first title in 2010 in his 19th fight, he remained champion at 160 pounds until Canelo Alvarez edged him in 2018 in their second bout. The 20 consecutive defenses tied the division record set by Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins.

“This is the biggest honor in boxing and the last piece of the puzzle in my career. I’m proud to have a legacy in boxing,” Golovkin said after being informed of his induction by the Hall.

Triple G fought to a draw with Alvarez in their first matchup and lost to him in a challenge for the super middleweight title in his final fight in 2022 after regaining the middleweight crown.

A silver medalist in the 2004 Olympics, Golovkin was elected last month as president of World Boxing, the organization aiming to run the Olympic tournaments at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KOs) had multiple title reigns at light heavyweight, one coming after he knocked out Roy Jones Jr. in the second round of their 2004 fight. He won two of his three matchups with Jones, who had long been considered the top fighter in boxing. Tarver, the light heavyweight bronze medalist in the 1996 Olympics, also played heavyweight champion Mason Dixon in “Rocky Balboa.”

Benn won titles at middleweight and super middleweight, holding the latter belt for four years, and went 42-5-1 with 35 KOs. The British fighter’s son, Conor, recently beat Chris Eubank Jr. after their fathers fought twice in the 1990s, with the elder Eubank earning a win and a draw against Nigel Benn.

Jimmy Clabby, who racked up an 86-21-23 record with 46 KOs before retiring in 1923, and women’s boxers Naoko Fujioka and Jackie Nava were also elected. Fujioka was Japan’s first five-division champion and went 19-3-1 with 7 KOs. Nava won titles at bantamweight and super bantamweight in consecutive fights in 2005 to highlight her 40-4-4 career with 16 KOs.

Also set to be enshrined are trainers and cut men Russ Anber and Jimmy Glenn, referee Frank Cappuccino and Dr. Edwin “Flip” Homansky, who became just the second physician to be inducted. The first is his wife, Dr. Margaret Goodman.

Journalist Kevin Iole and late broadcaster Alex Wallau were inducted from the Observer category.

___

AP Boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing