Michael Carbajal headlines 2019 class of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.
Some say Phoenix boxer is greatest light flyweight
Former world champion and Olympic silver medalist Michael Carbajal will headline the 2019 class of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, learned Tuesday evening. Carbajal, known as “Manitas de Piedra,” is generally regarded as the greatest light flyweight of all time. He was selected as fighter of the year in 1993 and comeback fighter of the year in 1999.
Carbajal was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006.
“It feels great,” Carbajal said Tuesday evening from his 9th Street Gym.
“I’m happy, man,” he said. “I’m from here. Represented Arizona from the get-go. … I’ve been doing this since I was 14 years old, representing Arizona all my life. My whole boxing career. I’m very happy.”
Legendary promoter Bob Arum spoke recently about Carbajal’s grit, which made him so special as a fighter.
Carbajal’s fight against Humbert “Chiquita” Gonzalez “was one of the great wars of all time,” Arum said. “Chiquita, as I remember, knocked Michael down, and it looked like Michael was going to be knocked out. Then the next round Michael pulled himself together and gave Chiquita a hell of a beating and knocked Chiquita out. You’ve got to watch that fight. It’s one of the great, classic boxing matches of all time.”
Also being inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame are University of Arizona football coach Dick Tomey, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van DykenRouen, Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall, Suns legend Tom Chambers and Northern Arizona University trainer Michael Nesbitt.
Tomey died recently after fighting lung cancer. He was 80 years old. Tomey won more games at UA than any other coach and was the force behind the “Desert Swarm” teams of the mid-1990s.
Van Dyken-Rouen is a six-time Olympic gold medalist. A 2014 accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. She has since become a motivational speaker and advocate for people with spinal-cord injuries.
Hall has helped guide the Diamondbacks to three postseason appearances, including the 2007 National League Championship Series.
Chambers is a member of the Phoenix Suns’ Ring of Honor. He came to the team in 1988 as the first free agent in NBA history. He scored a franchise-record 2,201 points in 1989-90, averaging more than 27 points per game that season.
Nesbitt spent 36 years at Northern Arizona, mentoring dozens of future trainers. The school’s athletic training center is named in his honor.
The induction ceremony will be Nov. 1 at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. athletic