International Boxing Hall of Fame

great museum

I have been a life-​long fan of boxing. The last time I visited the BHOF was back in 1995. During a recent road trip I checked back in last week and the place looks exactly the same. Twenty years have gone by and not much has really been added in the way of space or exhibits. There is a newer facility next door which houses the original ring from Madison Square Garden where many a historic fight took place. They expanded the souvenir and memorabilia section as well. Outside of that, I was hoping they would have expanded the main building and added some new exhibits.
The main building has plaster busts of many of the Hall-​of-​famers fists on display. I recall that Sonny Liston has the largest fist of any fighter (15 inches in circumference – like getting punched in the face with a small turkey), yet it wasn’t on display during my recent visit. I asked about it and was told they sometimes rotate the fists in and out of the display cases. How much space or cost would it take to just add another glass display case so they can all be displayed?
Unless you are a die-​hard fan I would suggest you roll your visit to the BHOF in with other points of interest such as Fort Stanwix in Rome, a trip to Lake Oneida or the Finger Lakes, Baseball Hall of Fame a few hours away, or during the induction week.
On a more positive note, it was great to see the exhibits and the people who work there are very friendly and helpful.

For a place smaller than most houses, they have sure done a good job with it. It is definitely lacking from a place like… Cooperstown, per se, but that’s to be expected. They have done a great job with the space and the size constraints. I was never a big boxing fan and I treated this as a roadside stop. After about an hour, we saw everything there was to see and moved on. It takes about an hour for the unenlightened like myself and really did get me more interested in the sport.
Like many reviews said, the staff are fantastic, very happy to see you and willing to talk about boxing and answer even my most basic questions happily.
Boxing, as a professional sport, has such a long and rich history, that they could take the place in many directions, I hope they do in the future.

Not a boxing fan. But you can’t deny the awesomeness of this place. It is very well put together and organized. It makes a girly girl like me interested in the history of boxing. Lots of side history notes, many belts, souvenirs, pictures, videos and audio explanations of the inductees.
Did I mention how friendly the staff is? They come to you to see how you are doing, and if you have any questions and answer all your questions. They make you comfortable.
Super awesome and we are looking for the June 2015 induction ceremony.

This is the 2^nd year I’ve attended the Induction Ceremony. This place is a boxing fans dream… The place is very small but they are looking to expand. If you’re in the area and just like boxing it’s still worth it to see all the memorabilia’s they have here.
If you want to make it a trip, I suggest you go during the induction weekend. There is events each day that put you up close and personal with the boxers. The banquet ceremony was great and the lines up of boxers were impressive. There is also a parade with all the boxers on Sunday. We will be back when they are inducting someone my hubby wants to see. This year was Oscar de la Hoya and Felix Trinidad.

One of the lesser known HOF’s, but truly a hidden gem, especially for boxing fans. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid when I first discovered the place on the way to another HOF in Cooperstown with my dad. I hope to make it one day during an induction weekend.

Top notch! Wealth of boxing history and collectibles– super friendly staff and easy location. Took my 98-​year old grandma and she was delighted at the special section on the Golden Fifties!
Super friendly staff and what a treasure of history and sports :)

My fiancé surprised me for my birthday with a trip to Syracuse NY. Syracuse doesnt sound exciting so I was confused as to what the surprise was when landing in this small college town.
We drive out about 20 minutes to Canastota and then it finally hits me! My fiancé is taking me to the International Boxing Hall of Fame!!!
In the middle of a village called Canastota there stands two small structures that encompass the boxing hall of fame. If you are a a boxing fan like myself this is the Disney World of boxing. Insane amounts of memorabilia from that spans from the bare knuckle days to the modern era. Standing next to Jack Sharkey’s heavyweight championship belt showed me how complete a collection they have…
In the second building they have the ORIGINAL ring used in Madison Square Garden for decades until it was recently retired. Knowing that Sugar Ray Robinson fought on this ring brought chills to my skin.
They also sell boat loads of signed gloves and posters at very resonable prices.
If you are a boxing nut like I am then this is the place to be.