Anber, who worked his first professional corner for middleweight contender Vinnie Curto way back on October 2, 1979, has worn several different hats since then.

He's been a trainer, manager, cutman and wrapped hands for some of the sport's biggest names including Oleksandr Usyk, Roy Jones, Artur Beterbiev, Shakur Stevenson and Vasiliy Lomachenko to name a few.

The proud Canadian has been a color commentator at six Olympic Games for CBC as well as the founder and CEO of Rival Boxing Gear.

Last November, Anber was in Winnipeg for the Canadian national championships when he got the call from the IBHOF executive director Ed Brophy.

"He said to me, "On December 4, they're going to release the names of who are on there and I'd like to congratulate you, you're going to be announced as an inductee for the class of 2026,'" Anber told The Ring.

"I could hardly contain my excitement because I couldn't say anything to anyone while I was there, or for the next few weeks after getting back home."

Anber, who turned 65 in March, went on the ballot in 2024 but wasn't sure if he would make it into the Hall of Fame.

"I was beginning to lose hope it would happen because as I started to get older, the voting members started to get younger," he explained.

"Nobody knew about my career, where I came from ... I think I started to get lost in time. There's no video or anything out there to show where I came from or what I did."

Anber represents the third person from Montreal to be immortalized in Canastota after all-action two-weight world champion Arturo Gatti (2013) and referee/judge Guy Jutras (2019).

"It's a pinnacle moment in my life, like it would be for anybody," he said proudly. "It's nice to be recognized, to have been a guy from Quebec, getting in obviously that's special.

"I had the same feeling as I do when I first started seeing world champions from other countries wearing Rival equipment, a company from Montreal, we infiltrated the market and gained world recognition. That's how I felt when I was the first Canadian trainer to get in."

Anber's journey began back in the 1970s in Montreal where he built fighters from the cradle and regularly worked with the Canadian national amateur team.

He gained experience from his first U.S. mentor John Davenport, honing his own skills, opening his gym in 1983. Realizing he needed equipment, he turned to Davenport who gave him a catalogue from a then-new company called Ringside.

He liked what he saw, soon becoming the exclusive distributor of the brand for a 13-year stretch in Canada. However, when the brand got new leadership, his deal was not honored and he started working for Title boxing before branching out on his own in 2003.

"I realized people weren't buying so much the brand as they were me," he said. "I thought it was a no-brainer to start my own brand, and my brother Richard came up with the name."

Anber played an integral part in the careers of several prominent Canadian fighters.

"[Future IBF middleweight champion David] Lemieux had never thrown a punch, [future welterweight title challenger] Hercules Kyvelos the same, [future lightweight contender] Howard [Grant] and [future WBO middleweight titleholder] Otis [Grant] had a few amateur fights."

Those who know Anber appreciate as well as the bounty of experience he brings to the corner, he's also someone adding another dimension in terms of the ability to offer a lighter moment with one of his magic tricks, or take the fighter away from the rigors of training to play snooker or pool.

"I'd like to think so," he said. "It has been a little bit of a relief for me as well.

"I may have been to more snooker clubs and pool halls than professional players have as I got to travel so much through boxing."

Recently, Anber has been corroborating with Paul Harrietha, who has written a book on his life and times called Russ Anber: Unrivaled.

"The book is coming out July 1," said Anber, though he will have a limited edition for sale at The Hall of Fame weekend.

"A boxing memoir. It's not only about the fighters, it's the history of Montreal, the history of boxing in Montreal, my growing up in this city and being part of the boxing culture ... the fabric that is the boxing world of Montreal. There's a lot of elements that play out. A young kid who grew up in a town 50 miles north of Montreal had a dream of being a trainer and eventually go on to be a Hall of Fame guy."

For all Anber's achievements many memories in boxing, he's steadfast in his fondest memory.

"There will always only be one thing," he said.

"No matter my sojourn with Usyk, Loma, world championship wins, as great as those victories are, as big as an event as those were, nothing ever will replace Otis Grant winning the world championship.

"That will forever be my greatest and fondest memory, for the simple reason that 16 years before that when he was 13 years old and I was just a few years older than him, 19, 20, dreaming and saying, 'We're going to win a world championship.' for that to come true in December 1997, ironically in Sheffield the home of the world snooker championship. Nothing is going to replace that.

"I'm allowed to bring somebody to ride in the parade with me at Canastota in the car and I'm taking Otis with me."

That speaks volumes for the man who you see in many champions' corners in a tie, complete with cornerman's jacket on. He's as classy inside boxing as he is outside it.