Contenders Whose Greatest Achievement Was A Loss/Draw?

Joe Bugner’s best performance in
losing to Frazier.

 

Marovic vs Lewis
Godoy vs Louis

 

Golota vs Ruiz, and personally I think Golota got robbed in that fight. Also his draw against Chris Byrd was a great fight and I was happy with both guys getting a draw.

 

Would Cooper v Ali qualify here?

 

Not sure how to edit, but more specifically I obviously mean dropping Ali

 

Wow, I can't believe I made it here first to say Dave Tiberi

Tommy Farr

Ali Funeka held the IBO title but we probably don't need to count that one. Anyhow, anyone who watched like when they read off the scorecards after the first fight with Joan Guzman will never forget it. Ali's distant, unbelieving demeanor during his spaced out interview with Kellerman was a haunting postscript to a bogus robbery. Ali get's bonus points for being double screwed with a robbery loss to Nate Campbell who had showed up significantly overweight.

Billy Graham had an awesome career with no shortage of good wins, but the most iconic moment was the famously deabated loss to Gavilan.

Rocky Juarez fought like hell in his first loss to Barrera

 

Jose Gonzalez comprehensively outboxed Ricky Burns for 6 rounds then faded and quit with a shoulder injury.

Guess that's his most defining moment as a boxer.

Danny Williams is probably beating shot Tyson or when he beat Potter with one arm but he got a lot of credit for showing resilience to get up six times v Vitality even though it was a one sided stunning.

Kevin Finnegan/Sibson v Hagler

Chris Finnegan v Foster and Conteh.

 

Yaqui Lopez loss 15 Victor Galindez.

Controversial scoring.

His fight against Saad was valiant, but in the end he was KOd.

Many believe he was hosed against Galindez and should have gotten the WBA title.

 

Do you think Sibbo did well against Hagler?

 

Armando Muniz getting robbed in his first fight with Jose Napoles
Carl 'The Truth' Williams losing a narrow decision against Larry Holmes
Frankie Duarte losing a highly disputed decision to Bernardo Pinango

 

Phillip Ndou. Losing to Floyd Mayweather He was Gallant that night

 

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Tommy Bell (2nd meeting)

(Note: Bell lost 2 UD's to SRR, and a SD to Kid Gavilan in the 1940's. Underrated at 39 10 2)

1946-12-20 : Sugar Ray Robinson 146½ lbs beat Tommy Bell 146 lbs by UD in round 15 of 15

• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
• Referee: Eddie Joseph 10-5
• Judge: Arthur Schwartz 10-5
• Judge: Jack O'Sullivan 8-6

• Unofficial United Press scorecard: 10-4-1
• Unofficial Associated Press scorecard: 8-5-2
• World Welterweight Championship (Vacant)

"Sugar Ray Robinson last night reached the pot of gold he has been hunting for five years by coming on in the middle rounds to outpoint Tommy Bell and win the world welterweight championship in Madison Square Garden. Robinson weighed 146½; Bell 146. The Harlem stringbean, known for five years as the uncrowned champion, finally got his shot at the crown this time and hit the jackpot, but only after the roughest, toughest going he has ever gone through in his career, as the rugged Youngstown, O., Negro walked in and belted away from start to finish of the 15-round slugfest. Loser of only one fight in his career of 75 trips to the post—and that one to a middleweight—the uptown thumper had to come off the floor from a second round knockdown to finish in front." - Associated Press

Notes

• Robinson had been scheduled to fight World Welterweight Champion Marty Servo at Yankee Stadium on September 6, 1946, but Servo pulled out of the fight due to a nose injury and announced his retirement on September 25.
• Former lightweight champion Beau Jack and former junior welterweight champion Tippy Larkin were each offered the opportunity to face Robinson for the vacate title, but they both declined.
• Robinson had been called the "uncrowned world welterweight champion" for five years.
• The fight was promoted by Mike Jacobs.
• This content is protected
• Bell floored Robinson in the second round, and Robinson dropped Bell in the eleventh.
• A crowd of 15,670 produced a gross gate of $82,948.

Sources

• The Windsor Daily Star - September 25, 1946
• St. Petersburg Times - October 6, 1946
• St. Petersburg Times - December 21, 1946
• Reading Eagle - December 21, 1946

 

Dave Shade's disputed draw with Jack Britton in 1922 and his disputed decision loss to Mickey Walker in 1925, both for the welterweight title.
Tommy Gibbons' decision loss to Jack Dempsey in 1923 for the heavyweight title.
Billy Graham's decision loss to Kid Gavilan in 1951 for the welterweight title.
Eddie Cotton's disputed decision losses to Harold Johnson in 1961 and Jose Torres in 1966, both for the light-heavyweight title.
Yvon Durelle's kayo loss to Archie Moore for the light-heavyweight title in 1959 after having knocked Archie down three times in the first round and once in the fourth.
Tommy Farr's decision loss to Joe Louis for the heavyweight title in 1937.
Leo Lomski's decision loss to Tommy Loughran for the light-heavyweight title in 1928 after having knocked Tommy down twice in the first round.
Jimmy Young's disputed decision loss to Muhammed Ali for the heavyweight title in 1976.
Eddie Machen's decision loss to Sonny Liston in 1960, noteworthy because he fought Liston without the effective use of an injured right hand.
Laurent Dauthuille's kayo loss to Jacob LaMotta for the middleweight title in 1950 in the final seconds of round 15. Dauthuille was ahead on the scorecards.

 

Yep, that may be his best effort but consider that was a scant 6 months after Joe had his rear end handed to him for the first time. And Joe still deserved the UD, he out worked Bugner.
I don't like to give kudos to a fighter in a losing effort; what I mean to say is saying a fighter's losing effort was his best performance.
Bugner has zero 'quality' wins in his career; don't waste time mentioning his wins over fading fighters and, if it wasn't for the Galindez-Ahumada bout in summer 75 (Monzon stopped undeafeated Mundine that night as well), my bud and my closed circuit money would have been wasted given Joe's timid 'effort' in Kuala Lampur against Ali.
Bugner's headstone should read: "Never has so little been done with so much"

I mentioned Ahumada; perhaps his draw with Foster in New Mexico warrants consideration.