The long wait for Michael 'Second To' Nunn to get inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame is now over.

Nunn was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canasota, New York, as part of the Class of 2025, which includes Manny Pacquiao, Vinny Paz, Mary Jo Saunders, Yessica Chavez and Anne Sophie Mathis.

“Long time coming,” Nunn told The Ring. “I'm just thankful to be here and being inducted into the annals of history with all the legendary great fighters that came before me and is going to come after.”

Nunn (58-4, 38 KOs) is a former two-division world champion at middleweight and super middleweight. He won his first world title with a ninth-round stoppage of then-IBF middleweight champion Frank Tate on July 28, 1988, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The win made Nunn the first world champion to come from his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, and he was greeted back home with a hero's welcome, as they threw a parade upon his return.

“We never had a world champion boxer,” Nunn said. “I was the first, so it was a legendary moment. It just made me feel good … It was a great honor to be able to go back and show the kids it could be done with hard work, dedication, focus, the belief system and the attitude to work hard and being around good people. I was fortunate enough to be able to be blessed with so many great people.”

Nunn’s title run cemented as one of boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighters, as he made five defenses, including Ring Magazine’s Knockout of the Year in 1989 when he knocked Sumbu Kalambay out in the first round. On that run, Nunn also defeated former world champions Iran Barkley and Marlon Starling by majority decision and beat former welterweight world champion Donald Curry by 10th-round knockout.

“Iran Barkley hit me so hard in the second round, I told my trainer, ‘Give me my million dollars, I’m going home,’” Nunn said. “One thing about a great trainer, they’re psychiatrists in their own ways. Joe Goossen told me ‘Hey, that’s why you’re the champion. You need to go out there and do what you’re supposed to do.’

"You need the tutelage of the trainers to help you get through because in boxing, you're gonna get hit. I don't care who you are, whether it's to the body, the chin, you're gonna feel that pressure and when you feel it, it’s how you withstand the pressure and overcome it.”

Nunn was 36-0, then ran into an undefeated 22-year-old and fellow Hall of Famer, James Toney, on Oct. 18, 1990. Nunn was ahead on all three scorecards, but Toney came back to stop him in the 11th round to take Nunn’s title and become the first man to defeat him.

Nunn moved up to 168 pounds and won the WBA title with a split decision victory over Victor Cordoba on Sept. 12, 1992. Nunn defended the title four times, including another decision victory over Cordoba. He lost his super middleweight title with a split decision loss to Steve Little and didn’t reclaim gold for the duration of his career.

Life took a turn on Aug. 6, 2002, when Nunn was arrested for buying cocaine after he was involved in a drug deal with who he said was an informant for the U.S. government. He originally sentenced to 24 years in prison, but was released on good behavior on Feb. 6, 2019, after 16 years and six months. Upon his release, Nunn had to do five years of probation.

If he did the full sentence, Nunn said would have been released on Dec. 19, 2024.

“My life goes on and I keep moving,” Nunn said. “I don't stop. I got knocked down, and I'm getting back up, and I came back, swinging and fighting louder, but we're going to do it in a positive fashion.”

During his sentence, Nunn said he got into three fights. The results were what you’d expect when a fight involves a Hall of Famer.

“All one-hitter quitters,” Nunn said.

Now, Nunn is trying to give back and stay around the boxing game and become involved with the American Boxing Association, which helps underprivileged kids in their local communities.