{"id":60394,"date":"2015-02-10T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T17:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=60394"},"modified":"2015-02-08T13:17:48","modified_gmt":"2015-02-08T18:17:48","slug":"boxers-set-to-join-hall-of-fame-weekend-in-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=60394","title":{"rendered":"Boxers Set to Join Hall of Fame Weekend in June"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u2018The Raging Bull\u2019 Returning Boxer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Jake<\/a>\u00a0(Canastota, NY \u2013 Feb. 2015) The International Boxing Hall of Fame announces legendary middleweight champion\u00a0\u201cThe Raging Bull\u201d Jake LaMotta\u00a0will be among returning Hall of Famers attending festivities planned for the 2015 Annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend\u00a0June 11 to 14.<\/p>\n

\u201cJake LaMotta is a legend in the sport of boxing and one of the most popular champions ever,\u201d said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. \u201cIt\u2019s always exciting for fans to see \u2018The Raging Bull\u2019 in Canastota for the Hall of Fame Weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boxing out of the Bronx, LaMotta captured the world middleweight championship via 10th round TKO over Hall of Famer Marcel Cerdan in 1949. The cagey middleweight also scored wins over Bert Lytell, Tommy Bell and Hall of Famers Holman Williams, Fritzie Zivic and Sugar Ray Robinson, whom he met in six legendary bouts. His pro record stands at 83-19-4 (30 KOs). LaMotta’s life story was made into the motion picture\u00a0Raging Bull\u00a0starring Robert DeNiro. LaMotta was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.<\/p>\n

LaMotta will be one of the boxing stars featured at \u201cA Night of 15 Rounders\u201d June 12\u00a0at the Rusty Rail Party House during Hall of Fame Weekend.<\/p>\n

Other events planned for the weekend include a banquet, parade, golf tournament, boxing autograph card show, cocktail party and the Official Induction Ceremony honoring the Class of 2015. Living inductees include heavyweight champion\u00a0Riddick \u201cBig Daddy\u201d Bowe, featherweight champion\u00a0\u201cPrince\u201d Naseem Hamed, lightweight champion\u00a0Ray \u201cBoom Boom\u201d Mancini, light flyweight champion\u00a0Yoko Gushiken, manager\u00a0Rafael Mendoza, referee\u00a0Steve Smoger,\u00a0journalist\u00a0Nigel Collinsand broadcaster\u00a0Jim Lampley. Posthumous inductees in the Old-Timer and Non-Participant categories will also be honored.<\/p>\n

A list of more than 40 boxing greats from the United States and abroad are scheduled to participate in weekend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Micky<\/a>\u00a0\u2018Irish\u2019 Micky Ward to Return\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIrish\u201d Micky Ward, whose life was portrayed in the Academy Award-winning motion picture\u00a0The Fighter, will return to Canastota to attend festivities planned for the 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Irish\u2019 Micky Ward was a true warrior inside the ropes,\u201d said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. \u201cThe Hall of Fame is excited to welcome him back to Canastota to participate in the 2015 festivities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boxing out of Lowell, Mass. Ward was one of boxing’s most exciting fighters. He turned pro in 1985 and used a crowd-pleasing style to register a 38-13 (27 KOs) record that includes wins over Shea Neary, Reggie Green and Emanuel Burton. In 2002 and 2003 Ward engaged in an epic trilogy with Arturo \u201cThunder\u201d Gatti (1-2). Following their third bout Ward announced his retirement from the ring. During his career, he was in \u201cFight of the Year\u201d three times (2001 vs. Burton, 2002 and 2003 vs. Gatti).\u00a0The Fighter, an Academy Award-winning motion picture chronicling his life, featured Mark Wahlberg as Ward and Christian Bale as his brother \/ trainer Dicky Eklund.<\/p>\n

Ward will be one of the boxing stars participating in the 5K Race \/ Fun Run, held in conjunction with the Canastota Running Club Saturday June 13 at 8:30 a.m.\u00a0More than 500 runners will compete in the race, which weaves through the streets of Canastota. Awards will be presented to top finishers and many door prizes will be given away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Nino<\/a>Benevenuti Set for Hall of Fame Weekend<\/strong><\/p>\n

Legendary middleweight champion\u00a0Nino Benvenuti\u00a0will be among returning Hall of Famers attending festivities planned for the 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the Olympic gold medal to world titles in two weight divisions, Benvenuti was a superstar in boxing in the 1960s,\u201d said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. \u201cWe are very excited to welcome the Italian idol back to Canastota to participate in the 2015 Hall of Fame Weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Trieste, Italy, Benvenuti is the 1960 Olympic welterweight gold medalist. He turned pro in 1961 and scored wins over Gaspar Ortega and Denny Moyer before stopping Sandro Mazzinghi in six rounds for the world junior middleweight belt. He moved up in weight to engage Hall of Famer Emile Griffith in a middleweight championship trilogy that saw him win, lose and regain the strap in 1967 and 1968. Following successful defenses over Don Fullmer, Fraser Scott, Luis Rodriguez and Tom Bethea, he lost the title to Hall of Famer Carlos Monzon in 1970. After unsuccessfully challenging Monzon in the rematch he retired with an 82-7-1 (35 KOs) record. In 1992 Benvenuti was elected into the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Benvenuti will be one of the boxing stars featured at \u201cA Night of 15 Rounders\u201d June 12.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"William<\/a>William Joppy to Make First Visit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three-time WBA middleweight champion\u00a0William Joppy\u00a0will make his first visit to Canastota to participate in events planned for the 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWilliam Joppy was a very talented fighter and met the sport\u2019s top fighters throughout his championship career,\u201d said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. \u201cWe are very much looking forward to welcoming him to Canastota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fighting out of the Washington, DC area, Joppy compiled a 48-4 amateur record before turning pro in 1993. He reigned as WBA middleweight champion three times (1996-1997, 1998-2001, 2001-2003) and holds wins over Julio Cesar Green, Hacine Cherifi, Howard Eastman and Hall of Famer Roberto Duran. He retired in 2011 with a pro record of 40-7-2 (30 KOs).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be a thrill to be at the Hall with all the great champions I fought along with and trained with. It\u2019s beyond words. This is a trip I\u2019ve wanted to make for a long time. I remember when Muhammad Ali was inducted and I\u2019ve wanted to visit ever since,\u201d said Joppy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ray<\/a>\u2018Merciless\u2019 Ray Mercer to Return<\/strong><\/p>\n

1988 Olympic gold medalist and former WBO heavyweight champion \u201cMerciless\u201d Ray Mercer\u00a0will return to Canastota to participate in events planned for the 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the Olympic gold medal to the heavyweight championship of the world, Ray Mercer was a fan favorite,\u201d said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. \u201cWe are very much looking forward to welcoming him back to Canastota.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercer compiled an 85-6 amateur record and captured the 1988 Olympic heavyweight gold medal. He turned pro in 1989 and won the NABF heavyweight title from Bert Cooper (W 12) in 1990 before stopping Francesco Damiani in 1991 (KO 9) for the WBO title. In his first defense he scored a dramatic 5th round TKO over Tommy \u201cThe Duke\u201d Morrison. Stripped of the title in 1992, he went on to score wins over Tim Witherspoon and Darroll Wilson among others. Mercer\u2019s pro record stands at 36-7-1 (26 KOs).<\/p>\n

For more information on the 2015 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, please call the Hall of Fame at\u00a0(315) 697-7095 or visit online at\u00a0www.ibhof.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u2018The Raging Bull\u2019 Returning Boxer \u00a0(Canastota, NY \u2013 Feb. 2015) The International Boxing Hall of Fame announces legendary middleweight champion\u00a0\u201cThe Raging Bull\u201d Jake LaMotta\u00a0will be among returning Hall of Famers attending festivities planned for the 2015 Annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend\u00a0June 11 to 14. \u201cJake LaMotta is a legend in the sport of boxing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}