Top Ten HW contenders who never got a title shot.

[donnellon]

Gains, Godfrey(both) Schaaf, McCarty, Coffey, Choynski, Goddard, Fulton, Neussel,Peralta,

[Brutu]

Boone Kirkman
Mac Foster

[Brutu]

Well actually I was thinking from the period of around late 1940's to early 1980's.
Because there was a color line drawn up until 1908.
(Jack Johnson drew the another color line,green the money line).
Joe Louis wanted to fight the best during his era,but his manager or promoter did not want him to defend the title against
the best black fighters of that time.
Tiger Jack Fox,LeRoy Haynes,Eddie Blunt.
(BTW anyone know how high those three were rated in the mid-late 1930's,if at all?)

[Brutu]

Roy"Tiger"Williams,man he seemed like a mean fighter.

[Robinson]

And Tiger Williams seemed like a guy that alot of top guys talked about
with sincere respect and to a degree fear.

[Brutu]

Charley Retzlaff aka The Duluth Dynamiter.
In 1931,Max Schmeling was quoted as saying that he believed that Retzlaff would be the next heavyweight champion of the World.

[jimglen]

IS anybody "keen enough" to list them chronologically for preservation?
and then further lists can be made thru the other weight divisions - as I said, Good Thread,(s) they'll make!

nice one

[Dancin' Dan]

Worth mentioning a guy who received one shot when he was a rookie (and largely won the heavyweight title that night) and then never received another one.... Tim Witherspoon. While yes he had won trinket titles twice - he was never given a shot against the unified or "linear" title holders of his prime days. He did get a shot against Holmes who many thought he beat. He never received another shot at the "real heavyweight title". Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe, Foreman, Moorer... Nobody fought him. He was in many ways too dangerous. That overhand right hand that dropped so many. He beat a lot of contenders and was always dangerous even late in his career. Of course if we get into minor heavyweight title holders that opens the door to many who never received a shot, but thought it was worth mentioning Tim (could also think of a guy like Ray Mercer too).

[dempseyfire]

Worth mentioning a guy who received one shot when he was a rookie (and largely won the heavyweight title that night) and then never received another one.... Tim Witherspoon. While yes he had won trinket titles twice - he was never given a shot against the unified or "linear" title holders of his prime days. He did get a shot against Holmes who many thought he beat. He never received another shot at the "real heavyweight title". Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe, Foreman, Moorer... Nobody fought him. He was in many ways too dangerous. That overhand right hand that dropped so many. He beat a lot of contenders and was always dangerous even late in his career. Of course if we get into minor heavyweight title holders that opens the door to many who never received a shot, but thought it was worth mentioning Tim (could also think of a guy like Ray Mercer too).

Witherspoon blew his chances at the lineal title with his losses to Smith and journeyman Everitt Martin while also being held up in court with Don King. But considering the number of title shots he had via the major sanctioning bodies and I would never put him in the category of guys who didn't receive adequate chances.

[Dancin' Dan]

Good point. And, you are very right that he was locked up by King. Other recent one would be Ruddock who only fought for a vacant belt - ie never the unified/linear belt. He had the two fights with Tyson "non-title".

And, for the history books.... Harry Wills, Joe Jeannette (hell he even beat Carpentier before he fought Dempsey), Sam Langford (who beat so many greats), Sam McVea and maybe most of all Peter Jackson (who JL would never fight).