Hartford Boxing Legend Elected to 3rd Hall of Fame

ROCHESTER, NY — Former two-time welterweight boxing champion Marlon Starling received a belated birthday present Wednesday, learning he has been elected to his third hall of fame.

The legendary fighter from Hartford will join recent International Boxing Hall of Fame electee Tony DeMarco and five others at the 29th annual Rochester Boxing Hall of Fame Awards Banquet on Oct. 12.

Starling, who turned 60 on Aug. 29, grew up in Connecticut's capital city and enjoyed an outstanding amateur career before turning professional in 1979. He won his first 25 pro fights before losing a split decision to Donald Curry in 1982. He challenged Curry for the WBA and IBF welterweight titles two years later, but lost a 15-round decision.

He won his first world title on Aug. 22, 1987, knocking out WBA welterweight champion Mark Breland in the 11th round in Columbia, S.C. He retained his championship twice, including a draw in a 1988 rematch with Breland, before losing his title under controversial circumstances to Tomas Olivares of Colombia in July of that year. At the end of the sixth round, Olivares dropped Starling with a punch, the only knockdown of the champion's career, and was awarded a knockout victory. The decision was later changed to a no-contest after review determined the knockout punch came after the bell.

On Feb. 4, 1989, Starling stopped champion Lloyd Honeyghan of Great Britain via technical knockout to capture the WBC welterweight title at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He dropped the championship to Maurice Blocker in his final bout on Aug. 19, 1990 at Bally's in Reno, Nev. He retired with a professional record of 45-6-1, including 27 victories via knockout.

He was elected to the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005, and to the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 2018. The Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance awarded him its most prestigious honor, the Gold Key, in 2016.

On his Facebook page, Starling simply wrote, "I made another one. Hall of Fame. God is so good." In a text message to Patch, he wrote, "I just want to thank all who helped."