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
Leon Spinks heavyweight champion Gerrie Coetzee. In the following fight, Spinks defeated former world title challenger and European title holder Alfredo Evangelista by a knockout in round 5. He fought to a draw in with Eddie López, in May 1980 he scored a knockout over Kevin Isaac, and in October beat the WBC's top-ranked challenger, Bernardo Mercado, by a knockout in round nine, this fight was on the undercard of Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes. His strong performance against Mercado earned Spinks a title match against Larry Holmes. In Spinks' only fight in 1981, and what would be his last opportunity to