BOXING: MNBHOF ANNOUNCES 2018 INDUCTEES
The Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame has announced its class for 2018, which will be inducted at the annual dinner ceremony scheduled for Friday, October 12 at Mystic Lake Casino.
Three fighters will be inducted into the modern class: heavyweight Rocky Sekorski of St Paul, welterweight Howard Bleyhl of St Paul and featherweight Mel Hammond of Minneapolis. Heavyweight Fred Fulton of Rochester was selected to represent the Old Timers division.
Three individuals will be inducted into the expanded category as well. Wally Holm, a referee and judge from St Paul, Ron Lyke, a trainer and coach from Minneapolis and Billy McCabe, a referee from St. Paul.
In addition, Caleb Truax and Clayton Don Wilson will be honored in a yearly recognition of contributors to the sport that accompanies the Hall of Fame inductions.
Sekorski compiled a 23-13-0 record during a 12-year-career that included a knockout of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks.. Bleyhl compiled a record of 27-8-3 with 11 knockouts during an amazing 2 ½ year career from 1945 to 1948. He won the vacant Minnesota welterweight title and defended it by stopping Buzz Brown twice in the span of two months.
Mel Hammond was 22-9-3 with nine knockouts during a career from 1947 to 1954, fighting to a draw with Hall of Fame fighter Glen Flanagan before losing on a unanimous decision to him in the return bout two months later.
Fred Fulton was 78-18-2 with 69 knockouts during a 30-year career that ended in 1943. He stopped the relentless Sam Langford, who was 127-18-34 when they fought in 1917. Langford eventually retired with a 178-29-39 record that included 126 knockouts.
The Expanded Category inductees include Lyke, one of the finest amateur fighters in Minnesota history, who has been training professional fighters for nearly three decades. Lyke handled Truax, who won the IBF Super Middleweight title this year.
McCabe is also being inducted into the expanded category. He was the third man in the ring for perhaps more state title bouts than any other referee and oversaw bouts involving a number of Hall of Fame inductees, including the Flanagan brothers, Jim Hegerle and Jackie Burke.
Holm was also one of the most respected referees in state history, overseeing some of the state’s biggest bouts, including the second match between Duane Bobick and Scott LeDoux and the Ken Norton-LeDoux fight.
Tickets and more information will be available soon at www.mnbhof.org