The 33rd annual Ring 8 Holiday Event and Awards Ceremony was held this past Sunday at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York. There were 354 attendees.
The New York State Boxing Hall of Fame, sponsored by Ring 8, announced its Class of 2020 (see below)
Headlining Ring 8’s 2019 Awards Ceremony were Fighter of the Decade, Amanda “Real Deal” Serrano (37-1-1, 27 KOs), of Brooklyn by way of Puerto Rico; undefeated heavyweight contender (Fighter of the Year) Adam “Babyface” Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs), of Brooklyn by way of Poland; Legend Award winners three-time, three-division world champion Iran “The Blade” Barkley (43-19,1 27 KOs), of Bronx, and two-time, two-division world champion Junior “Poison” Jones (50-6, 28 KOs), of Brooklyn; and two-time world heavyweight champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon (55-13-1, 28 KOs), of Philadelphia, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award winner.
Below is a complete list of the 2019 award winners:
2019 RING 8 Award Winners
Fighter of the Decade: Amanda Serrano
Fighter of the Year: Adam Kownacki
Legends Award: Iran Barkley & Junior Jones,
Muhammad Ali Humanitarian: Tim Witherspoon
Sam Kellerman Media Award: Gerry Cooney & Randy Gordon
Long & Meritorious Service: Daryl Peoples
Uncrowned Champion: John Capobianco
Prospect of the Year: Left “2 Gunz” Gonzalez
Member of the Year: James Monteverde
NYS Official of the Year: Waleska Roldan
Trainer of the Year: Scott Lopeck
Manager of the Year: Keith Connolly
Community Service Award: Michael Corleone
Amateur of the Year: Nisa Rodriguez
Amateur Official of the Year: Michael “Biggie” O’Conner
Good Guy Award: Peter Frutkoff
Twenty-eight new NYSBHOF inductees were announced (see below):
NYSBHOF CLASS OF 2020
BOXERS
(living)
Jorge Ahumada Soldier Bartfield
Alfredo Escalera Steve Belloise
Freddie Liberatore Jimmy Goodrich
Lou Savarese
Merqui Sosa Freddie Welsh
Bobby Cassidy Jr. Dan Daniel
Rick Glaser
Jack Hirsch
Max Kellerman A.J. Liebling
Dr. William Latham Tony Mazzarella
Julie Lederman Dan Morgan
Ron Lipton
Kevin Rooney
The seventh annual New York State Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held, Sunday, April 19, 2020, at Russo’s on The Bay.
