Mark Johnson Hall of Fame Update!

A number of boxing writers -- including Dan Rafael and Kieran Mulvaney of ESPN.com -- have publicly said that they have voted for former three-time world champion Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. For those who don't know, the voting is done primarily by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). That site put a nice capsule profile together for Johnson that looks like this:


Mark Johnson
Career: 1990-2006
World Championships: IBF Flyweight title (May 4, 1996-September 4, 1998); IBF Super Flyweight title (April 24, 1999-November 19, 1999); WBO Junior Bantamweight title (August 16, 2003-September 25, 2004)
Hailed From: Washington, DC
Record: 44-5 (28 KO) Boxrec record
Record against champions and Hall of Famers: 6-4 (3 KO)
Champions faced: Alberto Jimenez, Jose Quirino, Josue Camacho, Francisco Tejedor, Ratanachai Singwancha, Rafael Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Ivan Hernandez, Jhonny Gonzalez
Champions defeated: Jimenez (SD12), Quirino (KO3), Camacho (TKO8), Tejedor (KO1), Singwancha (UD12), Montiel (MD12)

History’s first African-American world flyweight and super flyweight champion was a top pound-for-pound fighter for years. Known as “Too Sharp,” he was a savvy boxer blessed with power and speed. He knew how to punch through his opponents and 21 knockouts before the fourth round attest to both his athleticism and his well-developed skill set. Johnson had more than execution; he had an array of those intangibles that set fighters apart from the rest. In pursuit of fame and fortune, he left his natural division to take a super flyweight title and then challenged bantamweights after a year-long layoff. A two-point deduction cost him a decision against Rafael Marquez and he was stopped in the rematch. This signaled the beginning of the end of his career, though he managed to take one more title –as if to remind us of just how great he was.


Looking at the list of eligible boxers to be in this year's IBHOF class, I personally think Johnson is in good shape. However, there are some notable names that could pose a challenge.

I definitely believe that Thomas Hearns will be inducted this year. So, if you take away that almost certainty, the other possible names in my opinion are the following:

Donald Curry -- The "Cobra" was a four-time world champion in the welterweight and super welterweight divisions. The native of Fort Worth, TX (34-6, 25 KO's) fought nine world champions including Michael Nunn, Marlon Starling, Lloyd Honeyghan and Mike McCallum.

Naseem Hamed -- Another multi-time world champ in the featherweight division, the "Prince" from Sheffield, England brought a new brand of showmanship to boxing. Hamed (36-1, 31 KO's) fought 11 world titleholders.

Wilfredo Vasquez -- One of Puerto Rico's finest, this three-time world champion (56-9-2, 41 KO's) was a major battler who fought 14 world champions.

Yoko Gushiken -- The "Kanmuriwashi" (Fierce Eagle) from Okinawa, Japan was one of the country's finest boxers ever. Gushiken (23-1, 15 KO's) was the WBA Junior Flyweight champ from 1976-1981.

This is not the entire list of eligible boxers, but these are the ones I think could pose a challenge to Johnson's induction. I don't think it will be a huge challenge, however.