Klitschko highlights Hall class
Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, four-division world champion Erik Morales, and light middleweight champion Ronald “Winky” Wright were elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
German promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl and broadcasters Steve Albert and Jim Gray also were elected as non-participants and observers. Elected posthumously were Sid Terris in the old-timer category, and ring announcer Johnny Addie and promoter Lorraine Chargin in the non-participant category.
Voting was conducted by members of the Boxing Writers Association and a panel of international boxing historians.
The induction ceremony June 10, 2018, in Canastota.
Nicknamed “Dr. Ironfist” and a product of the Soviet athletic sys- is
tem, Klitschko boxed professionally from 1996-2012 and posted a 45-2 record with 41 knockouts. Though he retired from 2005-08, the 6-foot-7 Klitschko was one of the top heavyweights in the world throughout his time in the ring. He lost his first fight to Chris Byrd in 2000 and three years later had the advantage over Lennox Lewis before a bad cut cost him the bout.
He left boxing five years ago to concentrate on politics in Ukraine and currently is mayor of Kiev.
Morales, the first Mexican boxer to win titles in four weight divisions, was nicknamed “El Terrible.” He followed his father into the ring and turned pro in 1993. He won the NABF and WBC super bantamweight titles, beat Guty Espadas Jr. for the WBC featherweight title in 2001, captured the WBC and IBF super featherweight titles in 2004, and in 2011 defeated Pablo Cano for the WBC light welterweight title.
He retired a year later after back-to-back losses to Danny Garcia, finishing with a pro record of 52-9 (36 KOs).
Wright was a 5-foot10 southpaw from Washington who captured the NABF light middleweight title twice (1995-96, 2000) and four world 154-pound title belts. After winning the vacant IBF title in 2001, he unified the division with a 12-round decision over WBA/WBC champion Shane Mosley in 2004, the first of two decisions over Mosley. He also competed as a middleweight and scored wins over Sam Soliman and Felix Trinidad before retiring in 2012 with a pro record of 51-6-1 (25 KOs).
Terris, dubbed the “Ghost of the Ghetto,” was a lightweight from New York who excelled as an amateur, going unbeaten in 50 fights. In 1922, he won the New York state, New York City, national and international amateur lightweight championships and also was the national AAU bantamweight champion. Although he never fought for a title, Terris had a solid pro career, retiring in 1931 with a record of 92-13-5 (12 KOs). He died in 1974.