Who are the top 10 fighters to NEVER win a title in boxing history?

Sam Langford is a given and at the top of the list. Charley Burley is also another given. Harry Wills and Jerry Quarry are up there as well to many people. Lew Tendler is largely forgotten today, but fought a who's who of great fighters during the 20's which was possibly the lightweight divisions greatest era. Young Stribling should probably make the list. With 128 ko's he is second in most ko's to only Archie Moore. He also fought some of the greatest fighters from his era at lightheavy and heavyweight.

Would any modern fighters make the list? Personaly I don't think so, but you may disagree. Take Oba Carr for example. He was an excellent fighter who just couldn't get over the hump, even with 3 or 4 titles out there. Then again he was surounded by Oscar, Tito and Ike.

So who else would make a list of the 10 best fighters to never win a title? Name them and discuss.

Holman Williams should probably make this list. anyone agree? Disagree?"

Kid Norfolk? He had a first round ko over Tiger Flowers for "colored" lightheavyweight title and is said bthat he was beating the great Harry Greb before winning by DQ. does he belong on this list?

1. Young Stribling
2. Sam Langford
3. Harry Wills
4. Ike Ibeabuchi
5. Howard Davis
6. Bennie Briscoe
7, Rubin Carter
8. Jimmy Young
9. James Scott
10. Ejiro Murata

1. Young Stribling
2. Sam Langford
3. Harry Wills
4. Ike Ibeabuchi
5. Howard Davis
6. Bennie Briscoe
7, Rubin Carter
8. Jimmy Young
9. James Scott
10. Ejiro Murata

I would scratch Ibeabuch, Davis, Carter and probably Scott, though I think he could have been a force had he the right mindset. Arguments could be made for Jimmy young and possibly Benny Briscoe. Murata.....I have no idea about. Just looking at his record I would say no, but we all know records can be deceiving. Maybe one of you guys could fill me in about him.

1 - Sam Langford
2 - Charley Burley
3 - Packey McFarland
4 - Holman Williams
5 - Harry Wills
6 - Lloyd Marshall
7 - Jack Blackburn
8 - Peter Jackson
9 - Young Stribling
10- Kid Norfolk

HM for Eddie Booker.

Bivins won "duration" versions of the title during WW2. If you include him I would add him at #3 with everyone below moving down a slot.

I would scratch Ibeabuch, Davis, Carter and probably Scott, though I think he could have been a force had he the right mindset. Arguments could be made for Jimmy young and possibly Benny Briscoe. Murata.....I have no idea about. Just looking at his record I would say no, but we all know records can be deceiving. Maybe one of you guys could fill me in about him.

I agree with you about James Scott, Jab. He would have been a force. He beat both Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Yaqui Lopez convincingly. His problem was he got old and ran out of time.

Who are the top 10 fighters to NEVER win a title in boxing history?

Sam Langford is a given and at the top of the list. Charley Burley is also another given. Harry Wills and Jerry Quarry are up there as well to many people. Lew Tendler is largely forgotten today, but fought a who's who of great fighters during the 20's which was possibly the lightweight divisions greatest era. Young Stribling should probably make the list. With 128 ko's he is second in most ko's to only Archie Moore. He also fought some of the greatest fighters from his era at lightheavy and heavyweight.

Would any modern fighters make the list? Personaly I don't think so, but you may disagree. Take Oba Carr for example. He was an excellent fighter who just couldn't get over the hump, even with 3 or 4 titles out there. Then again he was surounded by Oscar, Tito and Ike.

So who else would make a list of the 10 best fighters to never win a title? Name them and discuss.

1. Sam Langford
2. Charley Burley
3. Harry Wills
4. Lloyd Marshall
5. Peter Jackson
6. Holman Williams
7. Young Stribling
8. Earnie Shavers
9. Kid Norfolk
10. Young Firpo

Honorable mention: Herol Graham. The greatest British boxer never to win a World Title. Oh why oh why, did you stick your chin out to the mighty hand of Julian Jackson. Ringside officials were actually going to call the fight off at the end of round 4 due to the pasting he was giving Jackson. Such a shame.

Can't believe no one has mentioned Kirkland Laing, one of the most natural gifted fighters ever born, he really wasted his talent.

Lots of good names already mentioned, so I won't repeat those previously mentioned.
Tony Ayala would have for certain won a title had he not screwed his life up.

Going back a little, Tyrone Everette would have had agreat shot at a title.
Lemuel Steeples of the ill fated 1980 U.S. Amateur Boxing team that was killed in the plane crash in Poland had great potential.

James Shuler, even though he was KO'ed by Hearns still could have had a great career, had he not died in the motorcycle wreck.

Cleveland Williams.

Don't laugh too hard, but had Gerry Cooney been fighting at another time, say like when Frans Botha, Axel Schultz and Bruce Seldon were the title holders, he would have for sure won a belt. But top 10 best ever to never win one...no.

Andrew Golota had so much potential.

I would scratch Ibeabuch, Davis, Carter and probably Scott, though I think he could have been a force had he the right mindset. Arguments could be made for Jimmy young and possibly Benny Briscoe. Murata.....I have no idea about. Just looking at his record I would say no, but we all know records can be deceiving. Maybe one of you guys could fill me in about him.

Ibeabuchi was a wrecking machine before he went to prison. Carter did get a title shot and he was fading when he went to prison, but he defeated guys like George Benton and Emile Griffith. Murata fought to draws with both Pintor and Chandler when they were the champions. Davis lost very close decisions to Jim Watt and Edwin Rosario in their hometowns. Scott beat Eddie Gregory and Yaqui Lopez when they were the top contenders for the 175 pound title.

1 - Sam Langford
2 - Charley Burley
3 - Packey McFarland
4 - Holman Williams
5 - Harry Wills
6 - Lloyd Marshall
7 - Jack Blackburn
8 - Peter Jackson
9 - Young Stribling
10- Kid Norfolk

HM for Eddie Booker.

Bivins won "duration" versions of the title during WW2. If you include him I would add him at #3 with everyone below moving down a slot.

Excellent list!!

[QUOTE=1SILVA;4307092]Ibeabuchi was a wrecking machine before he went to prison.

With all due respect, Ibeabuchi is hugely overrated. His accomplishments pale in comparison to the hype. Tua and Byrd are good wins, but Ike never proved he could handle a top notch big man. Both Byrd and Tua, while being good fighters, were somewhat limited. If this list was about potential arguments could be made. But for the purpose of this thread.....I just cant see it.

Carter did get a title shot and he was fading when he went to prison, but he defeated guys like George Benton and Emile Griffith.

Two good wins, especially the ko of Griffith. But overall he just didn't beat enough big names for (me) to consider him. Tough guy though, and fun to watch.

Murata fought to draws with both Pintor and Chandler when they were the champions.


Like Carter, just not enough big wins. He was probably a good fighter, just not good enough compared to a lot of the other names I've read.

Is there any footage of him?

I agree with you about James Scott, Jab. He would have been a force. He beat both Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Yaqui Lopez convincingly. His problem was he got old and ran out of time.

Certainly would have been interesting to see how he would have turned out had he not been handicapped by fighting behind prison walls.

[QUOTE]

If this list was about potential arguments could be made.




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Laszlo Papp would also fall into this catagory.

Murata.....I have no idea about. Just looking at his record I would say no, but we all know records can be deceiving. Maybe one of you guys could fill me in about him.

I somewhat vaguely remember watching him from back in the day, and while it's been quite awhile, I remember Murata as a fairly decent fighter for a time (one of the better bantamweights for a couple years). Had a fairly aggressive counterpunching style, from what I remember, with a lot of his punching work being downstairs to the body and largely with the left hook. I think he came inside quite often with his head down and unprotected, though, which left him volunerable to the uppercuts Chandler used to wear him down and stop him in their rematch.

Besides that, don't really remember much else besides him being one of the WBA's favourite sons from those days.

Howard Davis Jr. deserves a mention, maybe not one of the greatest of all time not to win a title but he was a very good fighter.

1. Sam Langford
2. Charley Burley
3. Harry Wills
4. Lloyd Marshall
5. Peter Jackson
6. Holman Williams
7. Young Stribling
8. Earnie Shavers
9. Kid Norfolk
10. Young Firpo

Honorable mention: Herol Graham. The greatest British boxer never to win a World Title. Oh why oh why, did you stick your chin out to the mighty hand of Julian Jackson. Ringside officials were actually going to call the fight off at the end of round 4 due to the pasting he was giving Jackson. Such a shame.

Pretty fair list, although I wouldn't have Shavers in there, since he did get beaten by a lot of the top guys he faced. Of all the 70s heavyweights, I think Jimmy Young is most deserving of being on the list. Beat Foreman and Lyle convincingly, and imo got jobbed against Ali, Norton and Shavers. Pretty good going, overall.

Best Brit never to win a world title - how about Jock McAvoy? KO'd middleweight champ Ed Babe Risko in one round in a non-title fight, although for obvious reasons Risko's people would never let them meet with the title on the line.

Pretty fair list, although I wouldn't have Shavers in there, since he did get beaten by a lot of the top guys he faced. Of all the 70s heavyweights, I think Jimmy Young is most deserving of being on the list. Beat Foreman and Lyle convincingly, and imo got jobbed against Ali, Norton and Shavers. Pretty good going, overall.

Best Brit never to win a world title - how about Jock McAvoy? KO'd middleweight champ Ed Babe Risko in one round in a non-title fight, although for obvious reasons Risko's people would never let them meet with the title on the line.

I agree about Jimmy Young, with better luck he could claim wins over Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers!

He is one of those fighters who didn't always do enough though, lacked the dedication to stay at the top for a long time.

I somewhat vaguely remember watching him from back in the day, and while it's been quite awhile, I remember Murata as a fairly decent fighter for a time (one of the better bantamweights for a couple years). Had a fairly aggressive counterpunching style, from what I remember, with a lot of his punching work being downstairs to the body and largely with the left hook. I think he came inside quite often with his head down and unprotected, though, which left him volunerable to the uppercuts Chandler used to wear him down and stop him in their rematch.

Besides that, don't really remember much else besides him being one of the WBA's favourite sons from those days.

Thanks for the information Yogi.

1 Sam Langford
2 Charley Burley
3 Tony Ayala jr
4 Ike I
5 Herol Graham
6 Kirklind Lang
7 Bennie Brisco
8 Rubin Carter
9 Michael Watson
10 Earnie Shavers/David Tua

1. Sam Langford
2. Charley Burley
3. Harry Wills
4. Lloyd Marshall
5. Peter Jackson
6. Holman Williams
7. Young Stribling
8. Earnie Shavers
9. Kid Norfolk
10. Young Firpo

Honorable mention: Herol Graham. The greatest British boxer never to win a World Title. Oh why oh why, did you stick your chin out to the mighty hand of Julian Jackson. Ringside officials were actually going to call the fight off at the end of round 4 due to the pasting he was giving Jackson. Such a shame.


Love the addition of Lloyd Marshall both you and McGrain have contributed to the list. Marshall not only beat many of the great fighters from his era, but history itself.

Im curious as to you addition of Young Firpo. I have a feeling you meant to say Young Griffo, who fought and drew with such notable fighters as Joe Gans, George Dixon and Ki8d Levigne.

How about Eddie Machen, Jose Medel and Mario Martinez? Just throwing a few names out there.

Medel fought everybody tough, despite his record, and was able to defeat the great Fighting Harada, Jesus Pimentel and Walter McGowan, among others. He also gave a young Eder Jofre one of the most difficult fights of his stellar career.

Martinez was one of the top 130 pound fighters of his day and he fought Chavez, Nelson and Fenech tough. I don't remember him winning a title, hopefully my memory is still accurate.

Machen, from all accounts, was an extremely skilled boxer and I know him to be a strong influence on James Toney. He beat some solid fighters like an older Joey Maxim, Doug Jones, Nino Valdez and Jerry Quarry.

Michael Watson as well. I remember a similar thread on NSB where I mentioned him. He truly was an excellent boxer. Tragic what happened to him.