15.04.09 – By Kirk Lang – The International Boxing Hall of Fame, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has given its Web site a complete facelift.
Longtime visitors to the annual Hall of Fame weekend – which always takes place the second weekend of June, starting on Thursday – surely remember the old site, which had the same design for years.. It’s now a Web site fit for a king, and the timing is perfect considering Lennox Lewis, once the king of the heavyweights, will be inducted into the Hall two months from now in Canastota, New York, along with HBO commentator Larry Merchant and others. The Web site – IBHOF.com – among other things, gives some history about how the Hall got its start; provides brief biographies on all of its inductees in every category (Modern, Old-Timer, Pioneer, Non-Participant and Observer); has a news section as well as information about the upcoming Hall of Fame weekend; provides hours of operation and has a section on how you can support the Hall by either making a donation to become a one year member or a lifetime member. There are varying degrees of lifetime members.
A $1,000 donation makes you a welterweight champion while $5,000 makes you a heavyweight champion (with recognition on a museum exhibit). A $7,500 donation earns you the title of a super heavyweight champion. A super heavyweight champion, in addition to getting recognition on a museum exhibit, also gets a personalized International Boxing Hall of Fame appreciation plaque.
There are other ways to support the Hall besides financially. Boxing aficionados are invited to donate artifacts to the museum and any notable books, newspaper clippings, photos and magazines to the Hall’s library. People from all around the world converge on the Hall’s grounds to mingle with the champions, contenders, promoters, trainers and managers from boxing’s past and present. Everyone you can think of – from Jake LaMotta to Erik Morales – have helped make the annual four day weekend the highlight of the summer for boxing fans, and writers with a serious appreciation of boxing’s history know this is the place to be on the east coast in June, no matter what fight is taking place at Madison Square Garden, Atlantic City or Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.