Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame continues to expand, eyes permanent space for museum

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Friday, Aug. 7, 2015 | 2 a.m.

The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame doesn’t have an official home in Las Vegas. Rich Marotta, the Hall’s president, hopes to change that.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Saturday outside the Palace Ballroom at Caesars Palace, an exhibit with memorabilia from notable fights and competitors in Nevada history will be on display. At 6 p.m. Saturday, the group will host its third induction ceremony, inducting notables such as former heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis.

“We hope to get a lot of foot traffic and show (supporters) what a Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame would be like,” Marotta said. “So many people come to Las Vegas to watch a great fight, but other than the fight itself, there’s no place (boxing related) for people to visit.”

Items scheduled to be part of the exhibit include: Oscar De La Hoya’s 1992 Olympic gold medal, Marvin Hagler’s championship belt, a display of the history of belts from the World Boxing Council, robes and trunks worn by the likes of Johnny Tapia and Diego Corrales, and a tribute to legendary trainer Eddie Futch. There's no fee to view the exhibit, but a $5 donation is recommended.

The induction class also includes notables such as Hagler, Felix Trinidad, Roger Mayweather and Marco Antonio Barrera. Mike Tyson will present Ali for induction, and fighter of the year recipient Floyd Mayweather Jr. will also attend. Sugar Ray Leonard will present Mayweather Jr. with his award.

“That’s the kind of name power the event has,” Marotta said.

Marotta, a former media personality in Southern California, created the Hall in 2013. He moved to Reno 10 years ago and was surprised that Nevada, home to many notable fights, didn’t have its own boxing hall.

“There are several state boxing halls of fame. How could we not have one here? This is the boxing capital of the world,” he said.

It launched in 2013 with an induction ceremony at Monte Carlo, selling out 400 seats in the ballroom to show there was an appetite for the concept. The next year, it moved a bigger space at the Tropicana and again drew a standing-room-only crowd. Saturday, they expect about 1,000.

“It’s exploded beyond my wildest imagination,” Marotta said.

The Hall has been careful about whom it inducts. Initially, it said a boxer had to have 12 fights or eight title fights in Nevada to be eligible. That, however, excluded so many greats.

Now, the lone requirement is to have significantly contributed to Nevada boxing. That opened the door for greats such as Ali, who likely won’t attend, and Lewis for induction.

Remaining tickets for the induction ceremoney are priced from $75-$300 and available at nvbhof.com. Proceeds help support the group’s charitable causes, such as the club boxing teams at UNLV and UNR, and local youth gyms.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21