Among the 2025 inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the inclusion of Vinny Paz—better known by his former name, Vinny Pazienza—has sparked quite a bit of debate. The achievements of the charismatic American boxer of Italian descent don’t seem to fully justify such recognition, which appears to be tied more to Paz’s miraculous recovery after his devastating car accident than to his actual triumphs inside the ring. It’s a legitimate choice, but for the sake of consistency, it should also open the doors of the Hall of Fame to many other fighters with epic and moving life stories, even if less known to the general public—among them, our unforgettable warrior Sandro Mazzinghi.
Pazienza’s Career: Good, but Not Exceptional
Vinny Paz undeniably earned the distinction of becoming a two-weight world champion, capturing titles at lightweight and super welterweight. However, it must be emphasized that these achievements, while commendable, cannot be placed on the same level as those of fighters who reached the summit when the world title was undisputed, or of those who in more recent eras managed to unify all available belts.
When Pazienza defeated Greg Haugen in June 1987 to claim the IBF lightweight title, the WBC champion at the time was the ferocious puncher Edwin Rosario. Following Rosario’s spectacular KO victory over Livingstone Bramble, who had previously dethroned Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, “El Chapo” was widely considered the man to beat at 135 pounds.
Later, when Vinny captured the WBA super welterweight belt in October 1991 by defeating Frenchman Gilbert Dele, the division’s WBC champion was the formidable Terry Norris, who was clearly better than Dele in every respect. So, despite having held two world titles, Pazienza was never truly recognized as the number one fighter in his weight class on the global stage.
The picture becomes even less flattering when his losses are weighed against his victories. Vinny Paz’s final record in bouts contested for a world title under one of the four major sanctioning bodies stands at 2 wins and 6 losses. Every time he raised the level of competition against elite opponents, the American boxer came up short.
All Accidents Are Equal, but Some Are More Equal Than Others
It’s clear, then, that the decision to place Pazienza’s name alongside those of the many greats enshrined in the Hall of Fame is driven mainly by his astonishing comeback after the terrible car accident that left him with two fractured cervical vertebrae and prematurely ended his second world title reign.
It’s a moving and truly remarkable story, especially considering that the doctors who operated on him doubted he would ever walk again and were convinced he would never fight again. The story was later told—though somewhat embellished—in the movie Bleed for This.
However, Pazienza is not the only champion in the Noble Art to have staged a miraculous “resurrection.”
Sandro Mazzinghi never had the good fortune of seeing his story projected on cinema screens around the world. One might say, with a hint of irony, that he simply wasn’t lucky enough to be American. And so, the incredible and dramatic episode that struck him at the age of 25 is now completely unknown to many boxing experts overseas.
On February 14, 1964, just ten days after his wedding, Sandro crashed his car into a tree. He was thrown from the vehicle, suffering a fractured skull and damage to the internal structure of one ear. His wife, Vera Maffei, died instantly.
Less than two months later, Sandro was back in the ring, even though his physical and emotional wounds were still fresh, or perhaps precisely because they were: to avoid reliving the tragedy every waking moment. Before the accident, his opponents’ punches felt like gentle taps; after his return, every shot to the head gave him the sensation of an electric shock.
Quality and quantity: Mazzinghi surpasses Pazienza on every front
With all due respect to Vinny Paz and his opponents, it’s undeniable that Mazzinghi built a record clearly superior to that of the American. Like Vinny, Sandro also became a two-time world champion, but unlike him, he didn’t share the summit with others: he stood alone at the very top of the world.
Ralph Dupas, dethroned by the young Mazzinghi in 1963, had compiled an impressive 100 wins in 125 professional bouts and was trained by the legendary Angelo Dundee. Ki Soo Kim, stripped of his crown by a more mature Mazzinghi in 1968 before a massive crowd at San Siro Stadium, was undefeated in 34 fights and had previously taken the belts from the great Nino Benvenuti.
Mazzinghi’s record in world title fights was 5–2, with his only losses coming at the hands of the outstanding Benvenuti, who had to fight tooth and nail to win the rematch. In that second encounter, Nino was declared the winner by just a few points on the scorecards after a thrilling and evenly matched contest.
And yet, when discussions arise about new Hall of Fame inductees—as is happening now with the release of the 2026 nominations—Sandro’s name never seems to come up. It would be truly interesting to ask some of the voters who helped induct Vinny Paz last time, what Mazzinghi supposedly lacks compared to him, aside from multiple arrests.
Let the ring be the only criterion
What conclusion can we draw from all this? To me, it seems quite clear that inducting a boxer into the Hall of Fame based on events outside the ropes leads to multiple distortions.
What we know—or don’t know—about the private lives of great champions of the Noble Art often depends on random factors such as their nationality, the era they lived in, the willingness of writers, filmmakers, and journalists to tell their stories, or their popularity with the public.
None of this should influence an impartial, objective, and merit-based vote. My appeal to those who hold the power to make these decisions is this: ignore the side stories, however fascinating they may be, and focus on results, records, and performances.
And perhaps remember, from time to time, that the boundaries of the planet do not coincide with those of the United States of America…