Best heavyweight to never win a world title?

He came so close.....

 

"Fast " Fres Oquendo, although he challenged for that WBA "Regular" title like 14 times

 

I believe he probably will hold a title by the end of the year if he beats Parker. Zhang holds the WBO Interim title, so whenever the belts become vacant he'll automatically be elevated. I'm of the belief that the winner of undisputed, regardless of whichever of them it is, will be retired by the end of this year, or at the very least have dropped or been stripped of a lot of the belts in pursuit of big money fights rather than fight mandatories.

Has a bit of an asterisk next to it given he didn't actually win the full title, but at least the man he won the interim title from was highly regarded and he'll have a couple of respectable defenses of that, so it's not as bad as it could be. He'd certainly be better than whoever the hell the WBA will be elevating

 

Harry Wills

 

Povetkin held the WBA regular which is the same belt GGG defended for half of his title reign

 

All this talk of Tua and Golota got me to thinking. How odd is it that of all the talent on display for "Night of the Young Heavyweights," the only person from any of the matchups to ever win a major title was John Ruiz, the guy who got sparked out in twenty seconds.

Or now that I think about it, I think Briggs got the WBO at one point, but still. Of all the guys in those fights, I imagine Ruiz had to have been one of the last guys most people watching picked to ever win a belt, and yet he was one of the only ones. Not only that, he went on to hold it again when he was elevated from Interim champion. And if that weren't enough, he should have lost to Andrew Golota but won a decision in a fight where he won six rounds at most and got put on his ass three times.

John Ruiz got to hold a title twice while Golota and Tua never got to. How bizarre and ****ed up is that?

 

Tyrell Biggs could have been.....

 

Huey fury lol

 

Alexander Povetkin was a ring magazine top 10 ranked HW in 3 consecutive decades. Don't think any other HW that didn't win a world title could claim that.

 

If anybody considers John Ruiz a champion then Tua should have been one.
Rudduck was a great fighter but failed against the best.

 

Langford certainly was famously robbed of access to a title.

While he of course held the WBA belt for a year, Greg Page (the other Louisville Slugger) might have added a belt or two had Larry Holmes not famously, repeatedly ducked him. While I greatly respect the Easton Assassin for his work ethic and for taking (nearly) all comers, his evasion of Page became a bit comical.

 

Maybe Golota.