|
The Loser, and Never Champion ...
Instead of another all-decade tournament (which I will get back to at some point) as a sideline to the Page uni, I'm reviving this long-dormant thread with something a little different -- a tournament involving everyone who ever fought for a world heavyweight title, but never possessed a remotely legitimate championship belt: The Tournament of Challengers.
Below is the list I compiled with (I think) every unsuccessful aspirant to an undisputed world champion or holder of the WBA, WBC, IBF or WBO belt. I was a little unsure about including the WBO, or at least including only the Vitali Klitschko era and onward. But then I thought, what's the point of a tournament like this without Tim Tomashek?
Now I'm starting to have second thoughts about the likes of the IBO and even the WAA. Not only would it further dilute, I mean, expand the field for this tournament, but for the inevitable follow-up, The Tournament of Titlists.
After that comes The Tournament of Guys Who Got Screwed Out of a Shot (I might shorten that when the time comes around), and, of course, the latest rendition of the bracket that we've all run, probably more than once -- The Tournament of Champions (lineal only).
Anyway, below are the 147 guys who are in as of now. Please let me know if you notice any names missing from the organizations listed above, as well as any thoughts about which, if any, organizations should be added:
TOURNAMENT OF CHALLENGERS FIELD
Dominick McCaffrey
Charley Mitchell
Tom Sharkey
Jack Finnegan
Gus Ruhlin
Jack Munroe
Jack Root
James J. Walker
Fireman Jim Flynn
Philadelphia Jack O'Brien
Bill Squires
Gunner Moir
Jack Palmer
Jem Roche
Jewey Smith
Bill Lang
Tony Ross
Al Kaufman
Stanley Ketchel
Battling Jim Johnson
Frank Moran
Billy Miske
Bill Brennan
Georges Carpentier
Jimmy Darcy
Tommy Gibbons
Luis Angel Firpo
Tom Henney
Young Stribling
Paulino Uzcudun
Tommy Loughran
Tommy Farr
Nathan Mann
Harry Thommas
John Henry Lewis
Jack Roper
Tony Galento
Bob Pastor
Arturo Godoy
Johnny Paychek
Al McCoy
Red Burman
Gus Dorazio
Abe Simon
Tony Musto
Buddy Baer
Billy Conn
Lou Nova
Johnny Davis
Tami Mauriello
Gus Lesnevich
Pat Valentino
Freddie Beshore
Nick Barone
Lee Oma
Joey Maxim
Roland LaStarza
Don Cockell
Archie Moore
Tommy Jackson
Pete Rademacher
Roy Harris
Brian London
Tom McNeeley
George Chuvalo
Henry Cooper
Karl Mildenberger
Cleveland Williams
Zora Folley
Chuck Wepner
Ron Lyle
Joe Bugner
Jean-Pierre Coopman
Jimmy Young
Richard Dunn
Alfredo Evangelista
Earnie Shavers
Buster Mathis
Manuel Ramos
Oscar Bonavena
Dave Zyglewicz
Bob Foster
Terry Daniels
Ron Stander
Jose Roman
Crawford Grimsley
Lou Savarese
Ossie Ocasio
Lorenzo Zanon
Leroy Jones
Scott LeDoux
Renaldo Snipes
Gerry Cooney
Lucien Rodriguez
Scott Frank
Marvis Frazier
David Bey
Carl Williams
James Tillis
Tyrell Biggs
Bert Cooper
Vaughn Bean
Jesse Ferguson
Phil Jackson
Zeljko Mavrovic
Michael Grant
Francois Botha
David Tua
Andrew Golota
Steffen Tangstad
Axel Schulz
Fres Oquendo
Jameel McCline
DaVarryl Williamson
Calvin Brock
Ray Austin
Tony Thompson
Eddie Chambers
Eddie Machen
Jerry Quarry
Joe Hipp
Kirk Johnson
Owen Beck
Monte Barrett
Matt Skelton
Carl Davis Drummond
Corrie Sanders
Danny Williams
Okhello Peter
Juan Carlos Gomez
Chris Arreola
Kevin Johnson
Derrick Jefferson
Charles Shufford
Kali Meehan
Luan Krasniqi
Obed Sullivan
Ed Mahone
Willi Fischer
Damon Reed
Scott Welch
Alexander Zolkin
Jeremy Williams
Jorge Luis Gonzalez
Tim Tomashek
Daniel Eduardo Neto
Johnny Du Plooy
|