Champions who's career defining win wasn't for the Title

[gilgamesh]

There are a few guys in Boxing history who are more known for other victories outside of Championship bouts than they are in Championship ones. Especially back in the day when Champions were fewer.

A good example that brought this subject to mind for me was Max Schmeling. He wins the title by DQ, not his fault of course, but certainly not something that's gonna stand out in the annals in Boxing history as a particularly great achievement, but then in later years, he goes on to KO Joe Louis, and hand him his first defeat. Which is by far his greatest triumph, and most noteworthy achievement.

What are other such examples of Champions who's greatest moment didn't come in a Title bout or win?

[DrDuke]

Ken Norton. He even was awarded the belt out of the Ring. His biggest achievement was winning Ali.

[oogiebe]

The only one that comes to mind is Juan Manuel Marquez Ko of Pac-man. It was a non-title shocker. Certainly in my mind his best achievement.

[Onetimeonly]

Zarate over Zamora.

[oogiebe]

Zarate over Zamora.

Oh yeah! In terms of electric, it gets my vote. I was a big Zamora fan and caught that one on the TV on UHF. Shocker at the time, until you saw how technically sound Zarate really was.

[Onetimeonly]

My interest in belts had already waned significantly, but I don't think winky/Tito was a title fight.

[Perseus]

My interest in belts had already waned significantly, but I don't think winky/Tito was a title fight.

It wasn't a title fight.
That selfish bastard Hopkins had collected all the relevant titles leaving none for anybody else. The rotten prick created a horrible situation for boxing. If someone wanted to be middleweight champion they had to beat Hopkins.
Craziness.

[oogiebe]

My interest in belts had already waned significantly, but I don't think winky/Tito was a title fight.

It wasn't a title fight.
That selfish bastard Hopkins had collected all the relevant titles leaving none for anybody else. The rotten prick created a horrible situation for boxing. If someone wanted to be middleweight champion they had to beat Hopkins.
Craziness.

LMAO! Nice!!!

[Onetimeonly]

My interest in belts had already waned significantly, but I don't think winky/Tito was a title fight.

It wasn't a title fight.
That selfish bastard Hopkins had collected all the relevant titles leaving none for anybody else. The rotten prick created a horrible situation for boxing. If someone wanted to be middleweight champion they had to beat Hopkins.
Craziness.

[BitPlayer]

Jack Sharkey too. His wins over Primo and Wills are better than his gift against Schmeling.

Marvin Hart's controversial fight with Jack Johnson.

[BitPlayer]

My interest in belts had already waned significantly, but I don't think winky/Tito was a title fight.

It wasn't a title fight.
That selfish bastard Hopkins had collected all the relevant titles leaving none for anybody else. The rotten prick created a horrible situation for boxing. If someone wanted to be middleweight champion they had to beat Hopkins.
Craziness.

Thank god the WBA came up with multiple levels of World Champion, so such a ridiculous situation can never happen again.

[APerno]

Does it have to be a great fighter or do journeymen count?

Looking back at it, it is his crowning moment but at the time I suspect no one knew what a great achievement it was.

Handing Marvelous Marvin one of his three loses.

Willie 'The Worm' Monroe vs Marvin Hagler (1) ::: Spectrum, Philadelphia ::: 1976-03-09 ::: W UD 10/10

What is really amazing are the scores: 48-42 | 47-44 | 49-41 ::: he looks to have dominated.

Had two more shots at Hagler but they didn't work out so well: L TKO 12/12 ::: L TKO 2/10

[JC]

Arturo Gatti & Micky Ward

[Duran1970]

Ward was never champ

[JC]

Good point.

[jamamb]

if you count lucas mattyses wba title id say he counts, brutalized the very respectable lamont peterson in a non title fight and then won his wba trinket years later vs a much worse opponent. tbf petersons more of a best win then a career defining win though.

[gilgamesh]

Some great examples here guys. Particularly Zarate vs Zamora which for all intents and purposes might as well have been for the Undisputed Bantamweight Title at the time, but for Political reasons wasn't.

[chrisjs1985]

Some one's that I've not seen mentioned.

Marco Antonio Barrera would be another one that technically qualifies since Naseem Hamed had even dropped his WBO title by then. It was for the IBO title which doesn't count.

Juan LaPorte KO2 Rocky Lockridge
Joel Casamayor KO6 Diego Corrales
Erik Morales W12 Manny Pacquaio
Manny Pacquaio KO11 Marco Antonio Barrera

[Bodyshot3]

A slightly tenuous one I rather suspect...…..

…….but did Ali find something important-extra in North London when Cooper slotted him with a peach shot?

Outside the US in a pro ring for the first time, a huge/partisan London fight crowd who wanted his head on a plate and dropped hard by a bloke who was not a world beater but could hit like hell and had just landed his signature shot.

Life in the ring - easy up until then with dancing and outrageous 'what round' predictions - suddenly got real and hard for the Louisville man. He was in deep water.

The much fabled "Dundee Trick" gets all the headlines....but watching the fight back it is really about Ali being on the road and getting properly spanked but having the will to get himself out of a seriously nasty hole.

Ali beat far better than Cooper (that's a given) but maybe on that night he showed he could scrap, recover and win those fights which were not like shelling peas. Qualities he would need and use later down the line against bigger names.

[tiny_acres]

Ken Norton sd over Ali

[JC]

Some one's that I've not seen mentioned.

Marco Antonio Barrera would be another one that technically qualifies since Naseem Hamed had even dropped his WBO title by then. It was for the IBO title which doesn't count.

Juan LaPorte KO2 Rocky Lockridge
Joel Casamayor KO6 Diego Corrales
Erik Morales W12 Manny Pacquaio
Manny Pacquaio KO11 Marco Antonio Barrera

For me Morales and Barrera’s defining moments were their fights with each other.

[banjo]

LaMotta vs Robinson

[Tuan_Jim]

My interest in belts had already waned significantly, but I don't think winky/Tito was a title fight.

It wasn't a title fight.
That selfish bastard Hopkins had collected all the relevant titles leaving none for anybody else. The rotten prick created a horrible situation for boxing. If someone wanted to be middleweight champion they had to beat Hopkins.
Craziness.

Post of the day.

[scartissue]

Harry Greb's win over Gene Tunney

Albert Davila stopped former champ Rodolfo Martinez and decisioned future champ Lupe Pintor

Ayub Kalule's win over Sumbu Kalambay

[Boxing Prospect]

Maidana vs Ortiz (could argue the Broner ein i guess, but the win over Ortiz put him on the map)

A clutching at straws, Bong-Jun Kim's win over Hideyuki Ohashi?