Heavyweights: The ALMOST world champions

[AntonioMartin]

I was thinking about all the heavyweights who either were leading deep into a world title fight and got knocked out by a lucky punch, or dropped the world champion or were plainly robbed in a world title fight, who were not world heavyweight champions, and the list is pretty deep...I am including world champions in other weights, but not anyone who was later heavyweight world champion or before. This is the list of the almost world heavyweight champions.

Stanley Ketchell dropped Jack Johnson
Luis Firpo dropped Dempsey
Young Stribling was leading Max Schmeling then got ko'd in the last round.
Tony Galento dropped Joe Louis
Billy Conn was leading Louis then got ko'd in the 13th round
Red Burman dropped Louis
Buddy Baer dropped Louis
Archie Moore dropped Rocky Marciano
Tommy Jackson (I think, not sure) dropped Floyd Patterson
Peter Rademacher dropped Patterson
Chuck Wepner dropped Muhammad Ali
Jimmy Young-many people say, I havent seen this fight myself-got robbed against Ali
Earnie Shavers some say got robbed against Ali, he still makes this list as he dropped Larry Holmes
Renaldo Snipes dropped Holmes
Carl Williams got royally robbed against Holmes
Bert Cooper dropped both Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer in title fights
Axel Shultz was royally robbed against George Foreman

As you can see the list is heavily loaded, this would be an excellent heavyweight division if all these fighters were stacked at the same time!

Now, who am I missing??

[Bodyshot3]

Marco Huck.....a lot of folk thought he was robbed against Povetkin in Russia.

[AntonioMartin]

Marco Huck.....a lot of folk thought he was robbed against Povetkin in Russia.

Hmnn I had forgotten him! Excellent addition!

[wouter]

I was thinking about all the heavyweights who either were leading deep into a world title fight and got knocked out by a lucky punch, or dropped the world champion or were plainly robbed in a world title fight, who were not world heavyweight champions, and the list is pretty deep...I am including world champions in other weights, but not anyone who was later heavyweight world champion or before. This is the list of the almost world heavyweight champions.

Stanley Ketchell dropped Jack Johnson
Luis Firpo dropped Dempsey
Young Stribling was leading Max Schmeling then got ko'd in the last round.
Tony Galento dropped Joe Louis
Billy Conn was leading Louis then got ko'd in the 13th round
Red Burman dropped Louis
Buddy Baer dropped Louis
Archie Moore dropped Rocky Marciano
Tommy Jackson (I think, not sure) dropped Floyd Patterson
Peter Rademacher dropped Patterson
Chuck Wepner dropped Muhammad Ali
Jimmy Young-many people say, I havent seen this fight myself-got robbed against Ali
Earnie Shavers some say got robbed against Ali, he still makes this list as he dropped Larry Holmes
Renaldo Snipes dropped Holmes
Carl Williams got royally robbed against Holmes
Bert Cooper dropped both Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer in title fights
Axel Shultz was royally robbed against George Foreman

As you can see the list is heavily loaded, this would be an excellent heavyweight division if all these fighters were stacked at the same time!

Now, who am I missing??

Burman did not floor Louis, Jackson did not floor Patterson, Schmeling was winning against Stribling and Wepner actually stepped on Ali's foot.

[Onetimeonly]

Yeah, very few of them qualify.

[DrDuke]

Marco Huck.....a lot of folk thought he was robbed against Povetkin in Russia.

That was a sh!tty paper belt, not a true World championship.

Golota tried 4 times: vs Lewis, Byrd, Ruiz and Brewster. He was destroyed by both Lewis and Brewster right in the 1st, but his other 2 bouts were scored very controversially. A draw against Byrd, which was close, and a UD loss against Ruiz, which was a pure disgusting robbery.

[Bodyshot3]

I know what you mean Dr Duke....but I was racking my brains for a title fight and actually Huck did get hard done by and could have been a heavyweight champion as well as decent CW champ.

Povetkin got lucky in Russia, surprise-surprise

[Onamastus]

I know what you mean Dr Duke....but I was racking my brains for a title fight and actually Huck did get hard done by and could have been a heavyweight champion as well as decent CW champ.

Povetkin got lucky in Russia, surprise-surprise

Erm, the Huck fight happened in Germany.

Povetkin actually lost in Russia, to a Ukranian who was allowed to cheat all night without warning from the referee.

[margaret thatcher]

Ya Wlad sure hugged a lot , he was trying to emulate the craftiness of one of his idols

[AntonioMartin]

I was thinking about all the heavyweights who either were leading deep into a world title fight and got knocked out by a lucky punch, or dropped the world champion or were plainly robbed in a world title fight, who were not world heavyweight champions, and the list is pretty deep...I am including world champions in other weights, but not anyone who was later heavyweight world champion or before. This is the list of the almost world heavyweight champions.

Stanley Ketchell dropped Jack Johnson
Luis Firpo dropped Dempsey
Young Stribling was leading Max Schmeling then got ko'd in the last round.
Tony Galento dropped Joe Louis
Billy Conn was leading Louis then got ko'd in the 13th round
Red Burman dropped Louis
Buddy Baer dropped Louis
Archie Moore dropped Rocky Marciano
Tommy Jackson (I think, not sure) dropped Floyd Patterson
Peter Rademacher dropped Patterson
Chuck Wepner dropped Muhammad Ali
Jimmy Young-many people say, I havent seen this fight myself-got robbed against Ali
Earnie Shavers some say got robbed against Ali, he still makes this list as he dropped Larry Holmes
Renaldo Snipes dropped Holmes
Carl Williams got royally robbed against Holmes
Bert Cooper dropped both Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer in title fights
Axel Shultz was royally robbed against George Foreman

As you can see the list is heavily loaded, this would be an excellent heavyweight division if all these fighters were stacked at the same time!

Now, who am I missing??

Burman did not floor Louis, Wepner actually stepped on Ali's foot.

According to Boxrec a few months before, Burman did. I see now that this has been corrected. And as far as Ali-Wepner that's a close call....I think it was a punch and foot-stepping mix.

[Onetimeonly]

Nothing remotely close about either of them 'almost winning'.

[wouter]

According to Boxrec a few months before, Burman did. I see now that this has been corrected. And as far as Ali-Wepner that's a close call....I think it was a punch and foot-stepping mix.

Burman was NEVER listed here as having dropped Louis. As far as Wepner vs. Ali, it's ridiculous to rate Wepner among the men who were almost champion.

[Bodyshot3]

Erm, the Huck fight happened in Germany.

My bad....and well spotted

[Ambling Alp II]

Obviously some mistakes were made. I also would not count Cooper-Moorer because the WBO title was not a major title at the time. At the time It was comparable to the IBO or the WBF is today.

Nonetheless, this is an interesting topic.

Some more to consider:
Jake Root was ahead of Marvin Hart when he was counted out.
Jimmy Young could have got the decision against Ken Norton. It was not a title fight, but had Young got the decision, he probably would have be awarded the the title by the WBC after they stripped Spinks.

[margaret thatcher]

Kalivath Meehan shoulda get the decision over Lamon Brewster

[AntonioMartin]

According to Boxrec a few months before, Burman did. I see now that this has been corrected. And as far as Ali-Wepner that's a close call....I think it was a punch and foot-stepping mix.

Burman was NEVER listed here as having dropped Louis.

It seems Louis slipped in round three as per this: https://www.hugmansworldchampionshipboxing.com/heavy, that might have been why the confusion...

[Onetimeonly]

You're the only one confused.

[Tony1244]

Wepner, who I like a lot, wasn't close to an "almost," unless you mean almost going the distance.

[Tony1244]

Kalivath Meehan shoulda get the decision over Lamon Brewster

This travesty was the trigger for the riots, protests, and COVID. It's what everyone is talking about.

[margaret thatcher]

k

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Mccline vs Peter was that for a title?

Meehan for sure

James toney..had he won rd 12 he would have beat rahman

[AntonioMartin]

James toney..had he won rd 12 he would have beat rahman

And had he not been caught using illegal substances, he'd been champion in the WBA as well......

[cfang]

Surely norton was robbed against ali?

[punchoutsb]

A little more recently, Golota should have won the IBF ad WBA titles in back to back fights...which would have also led to Lamon Brewster holding the majority of the HW belts in 2005 before dropping them to Lyakhovich the following year.

[Ambling Alp II]

Surely norton was robbed against ali?

No. That is a myth. Norton was a champion anyway so it doesn't fit the guidelines for this thread.