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Sixteen new members were elected to the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame (PABHOF) this month. The Hall of Fame organization was established in 1958 making this the 65th set of inductees honored. The Class of 2023 includes seven boxers, five trainers, one promoter, one matchmaker, one writer, and one boxing judge. These sixteen individuals bring the total number of PABHOF inductees to 438. The new members will be honored at an induction ceremony to be held on Sunday, October 15, 2023 at the Sheet Metal Workers Union Hall in South Philly (1301 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19147). Tickets and program ads will be available for purchase shortly. For more information please call 609-377-6413. _____________________________________________________________ 2023 PABHOF INDUCTEES _____________________________________________________________
Philly middleweight Willie "The Gladiator" Gibbs was a 7-year pro (2001-2008) who won the USBA middleweight title with a 12th round TKO of Lenord Pierre in 2006. He also fought Giorbus Barthelemy, Marcos Primera, Edison Miranda, and Daniel Edouard. He retired with a record of 20-4, 16 KOs. As an amateur, Gibbs won four Philadelphia Golden Gloves titles. _____________________________________________________________
Born in Louisville, KY, Randy Griffin moved to Philadelphia and fought in the middleweight to light heavyweight divisions between 2000 and 2013. He vied for the WBA middleweight championship twice. In his first try, he drew with champion Felix Strum, and in the rematch, lost a 12-round decision. Griffin won the NABA middleweight title with a TKO of Julio Garcia in 2004, and won the KY State title in 2003. His overall record was 25-4-3, 13 KOs. _____________________________________________________________
Philly junior featherweight Teon Kennedy was an exciting fighter who won both the USBA and NABF titles and once fought for the WBA championship. He won the USBA belt with a TKO of Fernando Rodriguez at the Blue Horizon in 2009. The following year, he stopped Alex Beccera in ten rounds to take the NABF title in Atlantic City. He lost his 2012 bid for the WBA crown to Guillermo Rigondeaux in Las Vegas. Teon retired in 2013 with a record of 19-2-2, 7 KOs. _____________________________________________________________
Yusaf Mack won regional titles at super middleweight and
light heavyweight, a state championship at light
heavyweight, and tried for world titles at both super
middleweight and light heavyweight. His biggest wins came
against Richard Grant, Daniel Judah, Omar Pittman, Omar
Sheika, Otis Griffin, Shannon Miller, and Christian Cruz. He
lost world title bids to Carl Froch and Tavoris Cloud. Mack posted
an overall record of 31-8-2, 17 KOs.
Old-Timer Reddy Moore was part of the fighting Moore family, and the third Moore brother to be elected to the PABHOF. He fought as a welterweight between 1906 and 1926 and faced a number of fine fighters during the "No Decision" era. His opponents included Leo Houck, Kid Beebe, Jack Britton, KO Chaney, Benny Kauffman, and Kid Stinger. He fought a total of 68 times. ______________________________________________________________
Freddy Reyes was a lightweight and junior welterweight who never lost a professional bout. He campaigned between 1980 and 1983, and scored victories over Miguel Montilla (W12) and Victor Pappa (W10) and draws against Mark Piotrowski (D4) and Angel Cates (D4). He retired from the ring in 1983 with a record of 17-0-2, 8 KOs. ______________________________________________________________
Bridgeport, PA's Harry Joe Yorgey was a junior middleweight who fought for the Interim WBO world title and won two minor title belts (IBA & IBF International). He scored wins over Ronald Hearns (KO9), Jason LeHollier (W12), Martinus Clay (W10), Edson Aguirre (W8), and drew with Eric Mitchell (D8). His only losses came against Jermell Charlo and Alfredo Angulo. Yorgey compiled a professional record of 27-2-2, 12 KOs. ______________________________________________________________
Al Fennell was called the "Master of Southpaws" by Philly legend Rob Murray. Fennell trained world champion Robert "Bam Bam" Hines throughout his amateur and professional career and was an assistant trainer for David Reid. Fennell managed Champs Gym during the 1990s (at the 26th & Girard location). He died in 2010 and will be inducted posthumously. ______________________________________________________________
Sloan Harrison trained boxers for nearly 40 years at various gyms in Philadelphia. He worked with Eric Hunter, Hank Lundy, Rasheem Brown, Ed Dennis, Leroy Davis, Anthony Postell, and assisted with Bernard Hopkins for a period. Harrison passed away in 2021 and will enter the HOF posthumously. ______________________________________________________________
Sam Hickman was a longtime trainer at the Joe Frazier Gym. He coached amateur boxers and brought a team to the Soviet Union in 1966. He is also credited for training and helping to develop amateur teams throughout the world. He mentored Shar'ron Baker and Buster Custus. Hickman died in 2004 and will be inducted posthumously. ______________________________________________________________
Barry Stumpf, Lancaster, PA, began coaching boxers in 1972. He is a four-time USA Boxing Coach of the Year and coached for the Olympic boxing team five times. He trained boxers that won more than 50 Open Class Golden Gloves titles, 15 National Golden Gloves titles, and more than 30 National Golden Gloves Team titles. Stumpf is still active in the coaching game. ______________________________________________________________
"Rev" Elvin Thompson started the Southwest Youth Center in 1979 where he began training boxers. Some of the fighters he trained or co-trained were Frank Fletcher, Anthony Fletcher, Troy Fletcher, Jerry Martin (all PABHOF inductees), Gerald Nobles, Leo Edwards, Charles Hayward, Simon Carr, and Lakeysha Williams. Thompson is still active as a trainer. ______________________________________________________________
Arthur R. Pelullo is a promoter and the CEO and President of Banner Promotions. He has promoted more than 200 events worldwide on networks like HBO, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, Showtime, USA Network, and others. He promoted world champions including Ricky Hatton, Acelino Frietas, Ruslan Provodnikov, and bouts involving Vinny Pazienza, Herol Graham, and Otis Grant. Pelullo is still an active promoter. ______________________________________________________________
Gary Hegyi is a longtime boxing insider who began as a matchmaker in the early days of the Atlantic City casino era. Hegyi also made matches for Frank Gelb, Peltz Boxing, Joe Hand, Bobby Connolly, and Larry Holmes. Some of the fighters he worked with were John David Jackson (pictured), Ernie Singletary, Marvin Stinson, Anthony Williams, Earl Hargrove, Nate Miller, Buster Drayton. Heygi also managed or co-managed a number of boxers.
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John Stewart began judging amateur boxing bouts in the early 1960s. In 1977, he became a professional judge in Pennsylvania, where he eventually scored fights involving Matthew Saad Muhammad, Bennie Briscoe, Mike Rossman, and Curtis Parker. In 1981, he was licensed by NJ and eventually the WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, & WBU. Stewart began working major events all over the world, including about 200 world title fights. He was inducted by the NJBHOF in 1999. ______________________________________________________________
Tom Cushman joined the Philadelphia Daily News in 1966 and worked at the paper until 1982. He was one of the finest boxing writers ever during one of Philadelphia's richest eras. Cushman also authored the book "Muhammad Ali and the Greatest Heavyweight Generation" in 2009. He won the Boxing Writers Association's Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in journalism. Cushman died in 2017 and will be inducted posthumously. ______________________________________________________________ |
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WILLIE
GIBBS BOXER
RANDY
GRIFFIN BOXER
TEON
KENNEDY BOXER
YUSAF
MACK BOXER
REDDY
MOORE BOXER
FREDDY
REYES BOXER
HARRY
YORGEY BOXER
AL
FENNELL TRAINER
SLOAN
HARRISON TRAINER
SAM
HICKMAN TRAINER
BARRY
STUMPF AMATEUR COACH 
ELVIN
THOMPSON
TRAINER
ART
PELULLO PROMOTER
GARY
HEGYI MATCHMAKER
JOHN
STEWART JUDGE
TOM
CUSHMAN