Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame and inductees associated with ice hockey are inducted for their contributions to the fighting aspects of the game (to date, both hockey-related honorary inductees have been associated with the Buffalo Sabres, who play from Belfast). The honorary inductees were included as an acknowledgement that bare-knuckle boxing ended as a mainstream sport over a century ago, and that the honorary inductee system allows notable figures that promoted activity similar to bare knuckle boxing, who might be more recognizable to modern audiences, to be included in the Hall. For the inaugural induction ceremony in 2009, former undisputed heavyweight champion Leon Spinks was
Michael Spinks vs. Dwight Muhammad Qawi dramatic backgrounds: two months before, Spinks' longtime girlfriend, who was the mother of his only daughter, had died after a car accident. On fight night, Spinks' two-year-old daughter, unaware that her mother had died, walked into Spinks' locker room and asked when would her mother show up to see the fight. Spinks cried, but he was able to keep his composure. Qawi had been better known to most fans as Dwight Braxton. He still had not talked much in public about his name change and his Muslim faith. About seven days before the fight, he revealed that his doctors had