BoxRec

I’m sure it’s been talked about but I’m curious to get some updated opinions.
Charley Burley is an obvious one.
Lloyd Marshall
Jimmy Bivins

Let’s dig a little deeper
Artie Levine
Bobby Dykes
Gil Turner
Yaqui Lopez
Billy Petrolle

Not sure about Artie Levine, he was a decent puncher and of course had SRR in all sorts of bother but he lost many fights.
Herol Graham an obvious one. Lloyd Marshall too.

Controversial wrote: ↑25 Oct 2025, 13:17 Not sure about Artie Levine, he was a decent puncher and of course had SRR in all sorts of bother but he lost many fights.
Herol Graham an obvious one. Lloyd Marshall too.

Yeah I think Graham only lost to McCallum by on a Split Decision by like 1 point. He was definitely an awkward, but very effective fighter. Impossible to prepare for really because nobody else fought like that.

Earnie Shavers

Hey on a slightly unrelated topic, but it's kinda in this realm has anyone ever got more title shots and never won a title than Rocky Juarez?

Seems like he fought for a title like 5 or 6 times, and never pulled it off.

Mitsunori Seki fought 5 times for a world boxing championship in the 1960s, but never became champion. How can you not be a world champion in so many shots at a title?

Sam Langford is the greatest boxer pound per pound to never win a world boxing championship.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑25 Oct 2025, 14:49 Hey on a slightly unrelated topic, but it's kinda in this realm has anyone ever got more title shots and never won a title than Rocky Juarez?

Seems like he fought for a title like 5 or 6 times, and never pulled it off.

Not as many but Ruben Castillo lost in 4 title challenges but how unlucky was he as he lost to Alexis Arguello, Salvador Sanchez, Juan Laporte and Julio Cesar Chavez. You can’t have much of a harder task lol

Jerry Quarry

Controversial wrote: ↑25 Oct 2025, 13:17 Not sure about Artie Levine, he was a decent puncher and of course had SRR in all sorts of bother but he lost many fights.
Herol Graham an obvious one. Lloyd Marshall too.

Yeah, Artie is a bit of a stretch. But I’m thinking of the many guys who, might have had a shot, or not and just couldn’t get it across the finish line despite being terrific fighters.

Lew Tendler is another guy comes to mind

"Bad" Bennie Briscoe

Packey McFarland

elmersalsa wrote: ↑25 Oct 2025, 15:41 Sam Langford is the greatest boxer pound per pound to never win a world boxing championship.

I think this is the 2nd time in a week that I have agreed with elmer. This is getting scary.

Billy Graham, Mike Gibbons and Tommy Gibbons have to be up there as well.

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑25 Oct 2025, 19:37

elmersalsa wrote: ↑25 Oct 2025, 15:41 Sam Langford is the greatest boxer pound per pound to never win a world boxing championship.

I think this is the 2nd time in a week that I have agreed with elmer. This is getting scary.

Billy Graham, Mike Gibbons and Tommy Gibbons have to be up there as well.

Graham was even referred to as the uncrowned champ. Terrific fighter. I’ve posted about him a few times. A fighters fighter. What a chin too.

Here’s a wildcard. “ Gypsy Joe” Harris.

elmersalsa wrote: ↑25 Oct 2025, 15:40 Mitsunori Seki fought 5 times for a world boxing championship in the 1960s, but never became champion. How can you not be a world champion in so many shots at a title?

More recently.. Martin Murray had 4 attempts

Andrew Golota fought for all four sanctioning body belts and lost all four times.

I think Yaqui Lopez had five shots at the title.
Galindez twice
Saad Muhammad once
John Conteh once
Carlos Deleon once

Enrique Bolaños of Los Angeles, CA challenged the great lightweight champion Ike Williams 3 times! He lost to Williams all three.

Expug wrote: ↑27 Oct 2025, 10:48 I think Yaqui Lopez had five shots at the title.
Galindez twice
Saad Muhammad once
John Conteh once
Carlos Deleon once

If Lopez had been in the right place at the right time he could have won a belt. His fight with Saad Muhammad was one of the most exciting fights I ever saw.

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑27 Oct 2025, 16:24

Expug wrote: ↑27 Oct 2025, 10:48 I think Yaqui Lopez had five shots at the title.
Galindez twice
Saad Muhammad once
John Conteh once
Carlos Deleon once

If Lopez had been in the right place at the right time he could have won a belt. His fight with Saad Muhammad was one of the most exciting fights I ever saw.

That fight was so outstanding, I remember where I was when I was watching it.
The place had a neon sign in the window.
It said. “ Old Style”

It has to be one of the old guys when there was only one recognised title per division. With the 4 recognised belts and the 3 in the past, if you are in the top 10 of the division in the overall rankings, you would be really unlucky not to pick up a title along the way. There is plenty title holders now and in recent memory that haven't been as good comparitively to guys that never won a title due to a ATG holding the one championship belt in their division.

Langford is a great shout. One of the best ever despite not winning a title in any division he competed in.
Charley Burley and the other members or 'Murderers Row'

p4p1 wrote: ↑28 Oct 2025, 21:40 It has to be one of the old guys when there was only one recognised title per division. With the 4 recognised belts and the 3 in the past, if you are in the top 10 of the division in the overall rankings, you would be really unlucky not to pick up a title along the way. There is plenty title holders now and in recent memory that haven't been as good comparitively to guys that never won a title due to a ATG holding the one championship belt in their division.

Langford is a great shout. One of the best ever despite not winning a title in any division he competed in.
Charley Burley and the other members or 'Murderers Row'

Good observation, my friend. That is why a guy that becomes triple crown champion nowadays is not of a big deal as years past.

Why? Like you said, too many champions and too many divisions to choose for a title fight.

Bernard Taylor.

Anyone here know who Percy Bassett was? For those that don't, he fought in the featherweight and Lightweight divisions in the late 40's and 50's. He won 64 fights (41 by KO) and lost 12 (2 were stoppages, one on cuts and the other from a broken jaw).

From what I read, he could not get a title shot because he had no mob connections. He fought until sometime in 1955 when he suffered a detached retina. He did win the World Featherweight Interim title in February, 1953 while Sandy Saddler was in the army, but I am not sure that the Interim title was anything official. Anyway, he never did get a shot at Sandy Saddler.

Percy Bassett looked pretty tough to me. I think that if he fought Willie Pep in the 50's sometime after the Pep/Saddler bouts, Bassett would have given Willie a very tough time. Maybe Saddler too if he ever got to fight him.