Top Rank is proud to announce that its COO Brad Jacobs and matchmaker Brad Goodman were elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) Class of 2023. IBHOF Induction Weekend will take place June 8-11 in Canastota, New York. "Brad Goodman and Brad Jacobs have been integral to the success of Top Rank over the years, and I congratulate them both on this deserved honor," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. "Timothy Bradley Jr. is a Hall of Famer, both in and out of the ring, and he will take his rightful place among the greats of our sport."
Brad Goodman
Goodman has worked in boxing for four decades, first as a summer employee in Top Rank's New York City offices in 1983. He started by assisting three Top Rank employees who would eventually be inducted into the IBHOF: publicist Irving Rudd and matchmakers Teddy Brenner and Bruce Trampler. Goodman eventually moved to Las Vegas, gaining recognition for his evenly matched and fan-friendly fights at the Orleans Hotel. He joined Top Rank as a full-time matchmaker in 2004 and has developed dozens of fighters from novice to world champion, including Mike Alvarado, Brandon Rios, Mikey Garcia, Steven Luevano, Kelly Pavlik, Juan Manuel Lopez, Terence Crawford, Jose Ramirez, Oscar Valdez, Teofimo Lopez, Mikaela Mayer and Shakur Stevenson.
Goodman said, “Oh my God! It’s the greatest news I’ve heard, and it means the world to me. My goal and what I’ve worked for is to build champions and, to me, to be elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for this work is the biggest honor.”
Brad Jacobs
Jacobs' tenure in boxing began in 1981 as the general manager of Alessi Promotions, where he helped guide middleweight knockout artist John "The Beast" Mugabi to a shot at champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He spent 12 years as the senior programming consultant for USA Network's beloved Tuesday Night Fights series, which saw legends like Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Hector Camacho, Oscar De La Hoya, and Roy Jones Jr. showcase their talents. Jacobs joined forces with Jones as the senior advisor for Square Ring, Inc. from 2000-2006. He has been Top Rank's COO since 2010, bolstering the company's global footprint while overseeing the operations of dozens of events annually. In 2020, Jacobs was the architect behind the Top Rank Bubble at MGM Grand Las Vegas, one of the first of its kind in global sports following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jacobs said, "This is terrific news! I’ve been in this business my entire professional life, and it is just an incredible honor to be voted in by my peers for the years I’ve spent in the business and hopefully with many more to come. It is a crazy business, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
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Jacobs and Goodman join Top Rank broadcaster (and former champion) Timothy Bradley as well as Carl Froch and Rafael Marquez in the class of 2023. Also elected were: champions Alicia Ashley (Jamaica) and Laura Serrano (Mexico) in the women’s modern category; trainer Joe Goossen (USA) in the non-participant category; and television executive Seth Abraham (USA) and broadcaster Tim Ryan (Canada) in the observer category. Posthumous inductees are light heavyweight standout Tiger Jack Fox (USA) and flyweight champion Pone Kingpetch (Thailand) in the old timer category and JoAnn Hagen (USA) in the women’s trailblazer category. Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.
Boxingtalk will be featuring the remaining inductees in the IBHOF class of 2023 in the near future.
