Ring 8 refers to a nonprofit organization called Ring 8 located in New York City and founded in 1954 by ex prize-fighter Jack Grebelsky to help former professional boxers in need of financial assistance, including housing, medical care, and funeral related expenses. [1] Ring 8 is composed of current and ex professional, amateur, and collegiate boxers, referees, trainers, promoters and others involved in the fight game. Ring 8's current president is boxing promoter Bob Duffy, a former New York State Boxing Commissioner. The group holds monthly meetings in Long Island City at The Waterfront Crabhouse, and an annual Holiday Party in December as well as a picnic each year. Ring 8 members past and present include Rocky Graziano, Joe Miceli, Vito Antuofermo, Juan Laporte, Tony Mazzarella, Bobby Cassidy, Matt Saha, Gil Clancy, Emile Griffith, Tony Napoli, Mark Breland, Jimmy Glenn, Junior Jones, Renaldo Snipes, Vinny Madalone, Danny Giovanelli, Bill Tate, Bobby Bartels, Henny Wallitsch, Tommy Gallagher, and Sandy Sadler.
In 2012, Ring 8 founded and endowed the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame, with its inaugural induction ceremony on April 1, 2012. [2] In 2023, New York boxer Kathy “Wildcat” Collins became the first female boxer inducted into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame. [3] [4]
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The IBHOF started as a 1990 initiative by Ed Brophy to honour Canastota's world boxing champions, Carmen Basilio and Basilio's nephew, Billy Backus; the village of Canastota inaugurated the new museum, which showcases boxing's rich history. It is visited by boxing fans from all over the world.
Christy Renea Martin is an American former professional boxer. Competing from 1989 to 2012, she held the WBC female super welterweight title in 2009. Martin was the first female boxer elected to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016, and was also elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020, which was the first year that women were on the ballot. In 2010, her husband made an attempt to kill her. He was subsequently found guilty of attempted second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Bobby Chacon was an American professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1988. He held titles in two weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from September 1974 to June 1975 and the WBC super featherweight title from December 1982 to June 1983.
Louis Duva was a boxing trainer, manager and boxing promoter who handled nineteen world champions. The Duva family promoted boxing events in over twenty countries on six continents. Lou Duva was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, and The Meadowlands Sports Hall of Fame.
William David Conn was an American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis. He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout. His nickname, throughout most of his career, was "The Pittsburgh Kid." He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
Thomas Rocco Barbella, better known as Rocky Graziano, was an American professional boxer and actor who held the World Middleweight title. Graziano is considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch. He was ranked 23rd on The Ring magazine list of the greatest punchers of all time. He fought many of the best middleweights of the era including Sugar Ray Robinson. He was the subject of the 1956 film, Somebody Up There Likes Me, based on his 1955 autobiography, starring Paul Newman as Graziano.
Joe Gans was an American professional boxer. Gans was rated the greatest lightweight boxer of all-time by boxing historian and Ring Magazine founder, Nat Fleischer. Known as the "Old Master", he became the first African-American world boxing champion of the 20th century, reigning continuously as world lightweight champion from 1902 to 1908, defending the title 15 times versus 13 boxers. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
William Muldoon was an American Greco-Roman Wrestling champion, a physical culturist, and the first chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. He once wrestled a match that lasted over seven hours.
Louis "Kid" Kaplan, known as the Meridan Buzzsaw, was a professional boxer and a 1925 world featherweight champion.
Bobby Cassidy, born April 19, 1944, is a former professional boxer who fought from 1963 to 1980. Although born and raised in New York, Cassidy is of Irish lineage and fought under the name, "Irish" Bobby Cassidy.
Mickey Duff, was a Polish-born British boxer, matchmaker, manager and promoter.
Aaron Pryor was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1990. He was a two-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 1980 to 1983, and the IBF title from 1984 to 1985. Additionally, he held the Ring magazine title from 1980 to 1983, and the lineal title from 1983 to 1986.
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia.
Joe Antonacci (ring announcer) (born August 9, 1960 in Ridgewood, New Jersey) is a noted boxing ring announcer and emcee famous for his televised boxing ring appearances in a tuxedo on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, HBO, Showtime, and GoFightLive.TV. Nicknamed 'Generous Joe', he donates all of his ring earnings to assist injured and retired amateur and professional boxers in need, to overcome their disabilities incurred as a result of bouts in the ring, and to amateur boxing organizations. Antonacci also serves as a ring announcer for mixed martial arts fights.
The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in June 2012 by American sports broadcaster Rich Marotta. The company honors boxers and those in the industry who have significantly contributed to the state of Nevada, and donates proceeds toward Nevada-based/boxing-related charities and causes.
Kathy Duva is an American boxing promoter and current CEO of Main Events, a New Jersey-based boxing promotion company. In 2019 she was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
The International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame (IWBHF) is a sports hall of fame located in Vancouver, Washington. It is dedicated to women's boxing, and was started by Sue TL Fox and her website Women Boxing Archive Network. The Hall of Fame has a board of 11 members, who vote on nominees who are submitted to the IWBHF by the public. Terri Moss, a 2015 inductee, says that the IWBHF helps show women's accomplishments in the sport. Their primary mission is to "call honorary attention to those professional female boxers along with men and women whose contributions to the sport and its athletes, from outside the ring, have been instrumental in growing female boxing."
The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame in Belfast, New York, dedicated to the sport of bare-knuckle boxing. It is housed in barns that were once owned by the Greco-Roman wrestling champion and physical culture pioneer William Muldoon. The heavyweight boxing champion John L. Sullivan, who fought in both bare-knuckled and gloved boxing contests, trained in these barns under Muldoon's guidance for his championship bout against Jake Kilrain in 1889. The barns were originally across Main Street from their current location, on the grounds of the Belfast Catholic Church. They were bought, moved, and restored by Scott Burt when the church became no longer interested in maintaining them. Burt opened the Hall of Fame in 2009, when it had its first induction class.
Joseph DeGuardia is an American boxing promoter and lawyer. He is the founder and CEO of Star. Being the son of former professional boxer Joseph DeGuardia Sr., DeGuardia competed in the ring himself and achieved a successful amateur career. Among other titles, DeGuardia won the New York Golden Gloves Championship in 1988 while still attending law school at Hofstra University. In 1991, he took over the community-based Morris Park Boxing Club, which his father had founded, and relocated it to a new location.
Women Boxing Archive Network is an American-based women's boxing website. The website reports women's boxing news, archives women's boxing history, publishes women's boxing results, creates their own women's boxing world ranking and profiles women boxers. The website was founded and is owned by former professional boxer Sue Fox; it began in May 1998.