Gennadiy "GGG" Golovkin's induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday in Canastota, New York, highlights just how much we have missed him over the past few years.
His trilogy fights with Canelo Alvarez were among the biggest boxing has seen this century, and his reign as middleweight champion, with 20 title defenses, equaled the longest streak in the history of the division.
Since then, the middleweight division has not been as exciting or attracted as much interest.
Golovkin is one of five retired fighters set to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the modern category. Joining him in the Class of 2026 are light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, two-division champion Nigel Benn, five-division women's champion Naoko Fujioka and two-division women's champion Jackie Nava.
Here's a look at each of the inductees and the accomplishments that earned them a place in boxing history.
Gennadiy "GGG" Golovkin, former middleweight champion
With his side-parting haircut, polite manners and friendly smile, Golovkin did not look or sound like the ruthless KO specialist he was.
"This is not a game, this is serious business," Golovkin once said in his soft voice.
Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs), a former WBC, IBF and WBA middleweight champion, relentlessly stalked his opponents around the ring and nearly always won by KO during two reigns: 2010 to 2018 and 2019 to 2022. He was unified champion from October 2015 to September 2018, then again in 2022, the final year of his career.
His punches were so damaging that they left Kell Brook with a broken eye socket when they fought in 2016. Only Daniel Jacobs, Alvarez and Sergiy Derevyanchenko went the distance with Golovkin from 2008 to 2022.
As well as dishing it out, Golovkin could take a punch, as he showed against Canelo. In 45 fights as a pro and 350 as an amateur, he was never knocked down.
He fought professionally in eight countries, and the biggest nights were those three fights with Canelo in Las Vegas, which earned him approximately $100 million in purses and pay-per-view proceeds.
Golovkin was born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, in what was then part of the Soviet Union, to a Russian coal miner father and a Korean mother. Two of his elder brothers, Vadim and Sergey, were killed while serving in the Russian army in separate incidents. His twin brother Max helped manage his professional career.
After winning a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, he turned professional in 2006 in Germany before relocating to California to work with trainer Abel Sanchez in 2010. His first spell as champion was mostly a reign of terror, as he racked up 23 consecutive knockout wins until Jacobs took him the distance in 2017. That same year, Golovkin was No. 1 in ESPN's pound-for-pound rankings. He made a record 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses (tying Bernard Hopkins) before losing to Canelo. Golovkin went on to make two further middleweight title defenses before his last fight against Canelo at the age of 40.
In May, Golovkin was elected as president of World Boxing, the organization aiming to run the boxing tournaments at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He lives in Kazakhstan, where he has served as president of the National Olympic Committee.
Antonio Tarver, former light heavyweight champion
Even though Tarver is perhaps more widely known for his acting role in "Rocky Balboa," in reality the 6-foot-2 southpaw was a three-time light heavyweight champion and 1996 Olympic bronze medalist at light heavyweight.
Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KOs) was at his best in the 2000s. His top moments came in wins over Roy Jones Jr., Clinton Woods, Glen Johnson and Montell Griffin. After losing a majority decision to Jones in November 2003, Tarver stopped Jones in a massive upset in May 2004, when he landed a thunderous overhand left that flattened Jones for a second-round stoppage.
"He missed and I turned over perfectly and caught him on the kisser," Tarver said after the fight. "I knew it was my time, it was the perfect punch. It has been so long, but I never gave up on my dream."
The victory over Jones, the best boxer of the 1990s and an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee in 2022, was life-changing for Tarver. He had stalked Jones for years and, when they finally met for the first time, he was then denied by a close decision.
Tarver's win over Jones in the rematch was one of the biggest boxing stories of 2004, but he then lost a split decision to Johnson later in 2004, before winning a rematch in June 2005 and then beating Jones again via unanimous decision in October 2005.
Tarver was a late bloomer -- he became world champion at 34 after a decision win over Griffin -- and later competed at cruiserweight and heavyweight (without winning a world title). However, his reputation was somewhat tarnished by two positive drug tests later in his career. Tarver denied taking anything illegal after his second positive test in three years in 2015, following a draw with Steve Cunningham at heavyweight, the last time he boxed.
Jackie Nava, former women's bantamweight and junior featherweight champion
Nava was a two-division world champion and one of the trailblazers of women's boxing during her career from 2001 to 2022.
"La Princesa Azteca," from Tijuana, Mexico, became the WBC's first women's junior featherweight champion in 2005 and one of the dominant fighters in the 122-pound division for a decade.
Nava (40-4, 16 KOs) had two stints as junior featherweight champion. She reigned as WBC interim champion for a while before winning the WBA junior featherweight title with a unanimous decision win over Chantal Martinez in 2012. Her two fights against Mexican rival Ana Maria Torres in 2011 (a draw and a loss) were big events. In 2014, she unified the WBA and WBC titles by beating Alicia Ashley, and she made two defenses as unified world champion.
Aside from the Torres fights, some of her highlights included her decision win over Mariana Juarez, a third-round stoppage of Lisa Brown in 2012 and the unification title win over Ashley. Nava finished her career strong, winning all her last fights.
Nigel Benn, former middleweight and super middleweight champion
Benn is one of the most popular British boxers, and millions watched his big fights against Chris Eubank, Michael Watson, Gerald McClellan and Steve Collins. Viewers were gripped by Benn's raw, vicious aggression in the ring.
The animosity between Benn and his countryman Eubank mesmerized the U.K. audience. When Benn and Eubank had their rematch for two super middleweight titles in 1993, in front of 42,000 at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United football team, it was watched by 16.5 million people on free television in the U.K. and more in 60 other countries. Benn, who lost the first fight with Eubank in a thrilling Round 9 stoppage in 1990 in defense of his WBO middleweight title, was outraged by the draw verdict in their rematch in 1993.
Benn (42-5-1, 35 KOs) also had success on U.S. soil: He won the WBO middleweight title when he stopped Doug DeWitt in Atlantic City in 1990, and later that year he blew away Iran Barkley inside a round in Las Vegas.
Benn's biggest win came against McClellan, a fearsome knockout specialist and middleweight champion, in a tumultuous fight that attracted global interest in 1995. Benn's Round 10 KO victory was one of the most memorable nights in a British ring, but it had life-changing consequences for McClellan, who was left paralyzed and blinded by injuries suffered in the clash in London.
In total, Benn made 10 world title defenses: one at middleweight and nine as WBC super middleweight champion.
Benn, from East London, served five years in the British Army (including a stint in Northern Ireland during the Troubles) before his professional debut in 1987. His career ended in 1996 after the second of two defeats to Collins. Benn, 62, now lives in Sydney but has recently been seen ringside in London supporting son Conor Benn, a welterweight contender who beat Chris Eubank Jr. in November.
Naoko Fujioka, former five-division women's champion
Fujioka turned professional at 34 years old in 2009, but the late start did not stop her from making an indelible impression on women's boxing.
The Japanese boxer won world titles in five weight classes in a 13-year career, with wins over top fighters such as Anabel Ortiz, Yokasta Valle and Naoko Yamaguchi. She held the WBA flyweight title for five years and was one of the most dominant figures in the smallest divisions.
Fujioka (19-3-1, 7 KOs) won her first world title at strawweight in 2011 before conquering junior bantamweight (2013), bantamweight (2015), flyweight and junior flyweight (both 2017).
Fujioka, 50, last boxed four years ago when she lost a decision to Marlen Esparza challenging for the WBC flyweight title.
