Boxing greats set to meet fans at Caesars Palace Friday

Fight fans have a chance to meet some of their favorite boxers Friday at Caesars Palace. The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame will host a meet-and-greet session outside the Palace Ballroom on the third floor.

Boxers being inducted into Saturday’s Hall of Fame will be present to sign autographs and take pictures. The event starts at 11 a.m. with a small donation fee for local boxing programs.

“It’s a great way for kids to come over and meet a lot of these champions,” said Rich Marotta, the founder of the Hall of Fame. “Also, a lot of these local champions like Jessie Vargas, Shawn Porter, Mike McCallum, Ishe Smith. From 11 to 5, we got boxing figures from all different areas. It’s going to be a really cool event for the fans.”

Former heavyweight champions such as Riddick Bowe, Hasim Rahman and Leon Spinks are expected to attend. Bowe, one of this year’s inductees, had the epic trilogy against Evander Holyfield in the 1990s, with two of the fights at Caesars Palace.

Current champions and Las Vegas residents Badou Jack and Vargas are scheduled to appear.

Women boxers will be well represented with Christy Martin, Ana Julaton, Laura Serrano, Ava Knight and Elena Reid. Martin, a 2016 inductee, was the first female boxer to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Pernell Whitaker, Ricardo “El Finito” Lopez, Zab Judah, Terry Norris, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Freddie Little are other notable fighters scheduled to appear.

ALI TRIBUTE

The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame has a Muhammad Ali tribute planned at the conclusion of Saturday’s induction ceremony at Caesars Palace.

After the tribute, Sugar Ray Leonard is expected to give a speech on Ali, who died June 3 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

“We wanted somebody that is associated with our Hall of Fame, and Ray was an original, inaugural inductee,” Marotta said. “He kind of took the torch from Muhammad as the big, colorful, gold-medal winner, glamour figure, face of boxing. That was Ray. He carried that after Muhammad. He was the perfect fit to give a speech on what Muhammad meant to him.”

The Ali family won’t be able to attend. The family will be in Los Angeles for Nico Ali Walsh’s boxing match. Ali Walsh is the grandson of the legendary heavyweight and the brother of Biaggio, a Bishop Gorman High School standout running back.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24