Greates middleweights never to win the title

Black Murders Row


Charley Burley
Lloyd Marshall
Holman Williams
Eddie Booker
Jack Chase

I don't think Tony Zale beat's any of these men.

 

That is a toughie.

Ralph Dupas was a good Light-Middleweight who never won a Middleweight title :good

 

Pre-war Zale was a hard, hard man. I believe Bert on here saw him fight. If anecdotes are to be believed, he's was a great talent once he developed. I'm not saying he beats Burley but I think he has a good chance of beating Williams, Booker and Chase. Lesser fighters than Zale beat Marshall.

 

The guy in my avatar.

 

maybe not great but very good: bennie briscoe

 

Sorry, don't see it. I think Jake Lamotta would have whupped on tony pretty good.

Lloyd Marshall won wide decisions over Charley Burley and Jake Lamotta, and knocked out Ezzard Charles. Marshall is the last guy I'd expect Zale to beat. Sure Marshall has losses, but most of those were losses early in his career where he took dives. Remember, Marshall was a mob controlled fighter.

Marshall is one of the toughest fighters to beat at his best. He is cagey like archie moore, and he swarms like joe frazier. A great great fighter. Most of the film on him is when he is well past his prime.

 

No, I did not see Tony Zale Live, but the pre war Tony Zale,would be even money with all the above murderers row...You might outbox Zale but you would gon through hell with his ruggedness,and body punching...They didn't call Zale "The Man Of Steel" for nothing...Forget the 34 year old Tony Zale of the Graziano wars..I am talking before Zale lost four years in the service...Two great middleweights never to win a title are-
Dave Shade,had about 150 fights,losing very few...
Georgie Abrams,who I saw losing a close decision to Marcel Cerdan in 1946...A few months later Abrams lost a booed decision to the in prime Ray Robinson...In most any other era Shade and Abrams might have been champion...

 

In addition Georgie Abrams fought a DRAW with a prime Charley Burley in 1940...That's how good Georgie Abrams was !...

 

Mike Watson, not the greatest but very good

Other than it depends how you define 'The Title', ie linear/alphabet...

 

I don't know about that. How many black fighters did Tony take on during his career? It seemed to me that he drew the color line both pre war and post war. The majority of his career he took on easier white opposition. I think it's fair to say the Black Murders row was by and large the best of the middleweight crop in the 40s. Zale didn't even take on the best white middleweight of the era, Jake Lamotta, despite jake being the # 1 contender. Tony looks good on film, he can obviousely fight. But I cannot possibly rate him as one of the greats, when he left so much out there on the table. He is very unproven to me.

 

Marshall is really a l-heavy, Zale I think beats LaMotta and the others are just as likely canidates.

Britains, Len Johnson, Jock McAvoy and Bert Gilroy...

how about Villimain, and now that I think about it the Ring had a cover in 1938/9 "the middleweight muddle" with all the top boys some we never here of ever - Glen Lee, Ben Brown, McAvoy and Thil were om it, Apostili and a couple others.

anyone of these fighters could have been world middleweight champions.

 

Jack Chase
Bert Lytell
Jock McAvoy
Georgie Abrams
Bert Gilroy
Steve Belloise
Len Johnson
Eduardo Lausse
Laszlo Papp
Joe Thomas
SAM LANGFORD

Tried to pick a few from left field as you say over the pond.

 

I think Ezzard Charles could get a mention in here aswell.

 

Ezzard Charles.


Happy?