MISSOULA — One of Montana's greatest athletes will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in August.
Marvin Camel, a decorated boxer from the Flathead Indian Reservation, will be inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, which announced its members in March, including Camel.
The 72-year-old Camel, who grew up in Ronan, became boxing's first Native American champion when he defeated Mate Parlov to become the inaugural WBC cruiserweight champion in 1980. This made him the first world cruiserweight champion and he also won the first IBF belt in the weight class in 1983, defeating Roddy McDonald.
One of the best all-around athletes to come out of Montana, Camel became the Treasure State's first combat sports champion.
But misfortune struck Camel in the 1980s, when his belt and fightwear were stolen more than 30 years ago, but in 2020, the belt was found in a nearly crushed car in a Missoula scrap yard and returned to Marvin's brother, Ken Camel, who restored it with Native American embroidery.
MTN Sports provided extensive coverage of the discovery of Camel's Belt and its long history, as well as Camel's reunion and return to Montana during a ceremony in Polson in August 2021 to commemorate the reunion of his brother and Belt. Photos from the event can also be found here.
The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Aug. 8-10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Camel, a Florida resident, has been selected for the 2023 class of 15 inductees, including some of the greatest boxing legends in the business. Other inductees include Jorge Arce, Zab Judah, Genaro Hernandez, Timothy Bradley, Emile Griffith, Ann Wolff, Michael Moore, Rafael Marquez, Donald Curry, Lamon Brewster, Kostia Tsiu, Mitch Halpern, “Stitch” Duran and Jesse Reed.
