1 whats the shortest amount of time a top contender had to wait to get a title shot and why? 2 whats the longest time a top contender had to wait for a title shot and why? ie davey moore only had a few fights before getting a shot at the title .why? lamotta was the uncrowned champ for 3 or 4 yrs before he got his shot cause he wouldnt play ball.
Heavyweights have been forced to wait years because of involuntary defenses mostly related to politics and injuries that have derailed fights. Fernando Vargas won his title in his 15th professional fight. Mayweather Jr in his 18th. Im sure there has been quicker though. If you have the right promoter and the right fighter I think they can get ranked very quickly by beating the right guy.
de la hoya had to wait little over a year from his pro debut to get a title shot. he can't have had that many fights by that point. leon spinks had to wait even less time before his title shot. depends whether these guys were considered 'top contenders' though. i guess they would have been in the reckoning due to their exploits at the olympics.
Of course we always have fighters getting a quick shot due to politics such as Pete Rademacher and Rafael Lovera. Rad had notoriety coming out of the Olympics and it was a real gimmick fight but one which needed blessing in order to make, which it never should have. Lovera's shot was simply underhanded with a fictitious record to make it plausible. Shengsak Munagsurin's title shot was of the same but at least he beat 2 fighters who were considered top contenders in the WBC's eyes to get his title shot in his 3rd fight. As for a couple of guys who had to wait awhile. There was Zora Folley who entered the world rankings in '56 and did not get his shot until '67. Also, Jesus Pimental who entered the ratings in '63 and waited until '71. In both events they were both too old and meeting an outstanding champion. To be fair however, Pimental had 2 opportunities that went belly-up due to his manager. Folley was just plain screwed partly because of his talent but mostly by D'Amato's contempt for the IBC. Scartissue
