BoxRec

I'm not sure but I think Jesse Ferguson and Jose Ribalta have fought the most with 11 (Rahman, Holmesn, Bruno, Bowe, Tubbs, Dokes, Seldon, McCall, Bonecrusher, Tyson, Douglas)
Jose Ribalta has fought (Byrd, Klitschko, Tubbs, Holmes, Dokes, Bruno, Seldon, Witherspoon, Spinks, Tyson, Bonecrusher)

Is there anyone with more?

..if you stick to legit, lineal....whatever you want to call them, i think joe louis has the record with eight....baer, carnera, braddock, sharkey, schmeling, walcott, charles and marciano....with kayoes over all but charles and marciano.

actually Larry Holmes fought 11 as well ( Ali, Berbick, L. Spinks, Witherspoon, M. Spinks, Tyson, Holyfield, Bonecrusher, Weaver, McCall, Norton)

..and if you deduct the non-legit, universal, whatever....louis still holds the record.

Holyfield fought Thomas(?), Dokes, Douglas, Foreman, Holmes, Bowe(3x), Moorer(2x), Tyson(2x), Lewis(2x), Ruiz(3x), Rahman and Toney(?).

[quote="Decagon"]James Toney is not a former World Titlist. Neither is Frans Botha.[/quote]

Okay. As of now, that's eleven for Holyfield.

And we'll see where Toney goes from here.

Ali also fought Ernie Terrell who was WBA champion for a while.

Joe Louis fought two very unofficial champions also:

Lee Savold, BBB of Control Champion world champion

Jimmy Bivins, former "Duration Champion"

Those titles are not worse than all the titles around today.

Søren

Larry Holmes actually fought 12 if count the WBO title with Ray Mercer who fought Holmes in '92.

..woller.....and correct you are, sir.

Well, in that case, add Mercer onto Holyfield's resume.

Naturaly he didnt do as well as Ali against these three and I know he may not have fought as many 'champions' as some of the others listed but you got to hand it to George Scrapiron Jones for getting in there with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman.

Just so you know, Decagon, Tyson flunkie bitch.

..mccall and rahman became champions only because they beat lewis....so shouldn't they be deducted from the list?

Fireman Jim Flynn fought Burns, Johnson and Dempsey, though only two were champs when he fought them. He also fought Luther McCarty who was the White Hope Champion and Sam Langford who was the uncrowned champion, as well as Jack Dillon, George Gardner, Jack Root, Billy Papke.

Joe Grim fought Bob Fitzsimmons, Tommy Burns, Jack Johnson, Jack O'Brien, Joe Walcott, Joe Gans, George Gardner, and several others who had claims on titles.

..decagon....i entered this because i want to develop the idea...i.e..how much credit should a fighter get for regaining a title when he only regained it because he lost it in the first place? jimmy carter won the lightweight title three times....but only because he lost it twice (and to inferior challengers at that.) floyd patterson beat the heavyweight champion ingemar johannsen.....but ingo was champion only because he beat floyd.

so...mcclain and rahman were champions but only because they beat lewis.if he hadn't lost to them they wouldn't have been champions..see what i mean?

now...as for your example....sorry.i don't understand the logic in your response.

addenda: now a fighter might well deserve credit for coming back and beating the man who took away his title.....but that isn't quite what i'm referring to.

..frazier, foreman and spinks were champions because they beat a champion they hadn't lost to. (Norton won his title via a memo from an alphabet group, but that's beside the point.) sorry, dec...but i just can't understand your thinking here.

box buzz...can you jump in here? is it me..or am i making MY point unlcear?

if buzzy doesn't come to my aid...or even if he does...is there anyone erlse who can state what i'm getting at better than i have?

Jaclem---some people find it hard to understand anything, even if it is drawn out in a picture for them!

...oh..thanks barry!!!! at least i am not alone!!!

decag..one more time...i'm not disputing mcall's or rahman's right to be heavyweight champions.....i am just saying that the only reason they became champions was because they beat lewis. now, technically of course they can count as champions lewis beat...b ut theyonly became champions because.....sorry.....i can 't keep this up...and i can't draw a picture........at this point i'm not even sure i can find the boxes our christmas tree ornaments go in...

..decag.....sorry...i have no idea what the hell point you are trying to make.

and it's even...because you have have no idea what point i am trying to make.

somehow , though, i don't think that means you've earned a draw.

*That's good of you, Decagon. That's the way to do it (on a message board)...you didn't reply to my name calling. I despise Mike Tyson, whom I know you celebrate, not the least of which because he is and was overrated (makes me wonder about those Marciano fans that love Tyson so much, BTW, and see Rocky in him...makes me think Holyfield might fracture his forehead, too, with an overhand right, just like he did to Mike- and Qawi).

So maybe Holyfield has fought the most heavyweight belt-holders.