On the heels of his induction into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame comes news that Irish legend Steve Collins is included on the International Boxing Hall of Fame ballot for IBHOF’s Class of 2026.
Ballots were distributed last week to voters, who include members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and boxing historians from around the world. Overall, voters from Japan, England, Canada, Argentina, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, Mexico and the U.S. are among those who will take part in the selection process.
The voting results and the names of IBHOF inductees will be announced in early December, with the induction ceremony scheduled for June 2026 in upstate Canastota, New York, home of the IBHOF.
“The annual ballot mailing is a special time for the sport of boxing," IBHOF Executive Director Edward Brophy told boxingscene.com. "There is tremendous anticipation as the Hall of Fame and the worldwide boxing community anxiously await the results to determine who will join the list of boxing immortals.”
Other candidates on the IBHOF ballot include Kazakhstan’s Gennadiy Golovkin [42-2-1, 37 KOs], who dominated the middleweight division for almost a decade; and the late Vernon Forrest [41-3, 29 KOs], who reigned as world champion at welterweight and junior middleweight.
A prizefighter from 1986 to 1997, Collins [36-3, 21 KOs] retired having held both the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles simultaneously and without losing as champion.
He was inducted into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame [ACBHOF] on Sept. 27 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
It was a triumphant return to Atlantic City, the one-time mecca of boxing, for the “Celtic Warrior,” who fought there five times during his U.S. stint from 1986 to 1990.
EGAN BYE
Bidding to add a US Boxing Metropolitan Championship title to his name, Dundalk transplant Timmy Egan is scheduled to make his debut in the tournament this weekend after receiving a bye in the opening round of the 165-pound competition. He squares off with fellow Queens resident Brandon Ortiz of Universal Boxing Club [the venue was pending by press time].
Egan, who fights out of Donal Ward’s Bua Boxing Club in Astoria, won the 2025 MSG Boxing Ring Masters 165-pound novice title early this year.
