Best fighter not to win a title since the 70's

Gonna go with a few UK fighters here

kirkland Laing - i know Jones (another good contender) beat him twice, but if this guy had have taken the game serious he was more than capable of winning a title.

Chris finnegan - gave Foster a good fight too, pity he was in a strong era, olympic medal winner too.

Might as well mention his brother Kevin too, gave hagler trouble, another in a good era

Herol Graham -No doubt he had the talent to win a title

Aussie Joe? Certainly better than some guys who won alphabet titles

Jerry Quarry - i know some may consider his prime the 60s, and their probabley right, but he had a decent enough few years in the 70s

 

It certainly wasn't for lack of chances. Though I thought he beat Ruiz pretty convincingly.

 

i'd thought about Big Joe aswell, a decade too soon for him. When focused much better offensively ( and there may well be a mitigating reason for this ) than most give him credit for.

 

don't know about laing .
Finnegan failed 2 win a title in d weakest era of LHW - as good as rademacher whom also was a gold medalist . slightly better than Audley who was also a gold medalist and from d UK .
Graham overrated and dirty .
Aussie Joe ?
I thought that since 70s meant after 1979 .

 

Ive obviously got it wrong and thought it included 70s

Disagree with the comments bout chris finnegan tho, he was a hell of a lot better at L/heavy than that cockhead harrison was at H/weight

Graham was a decent fighter too, just found that little bit lacking when it came to his big nights

Laing on his best night could be a handful for anyone at that time, an awkward but effective style for him

 

The B-netts, Lonnie and Jesse. The jabs. The ****in' jabs.

 

My avatar.

 

Bugner, Briscoe, Yaqui, Everett, Graham.

 

Good call on Ahumada. There's a name you certainly don't hear mentioned often. But look at the opposition he had to go through--prime Galindez/prime Conteh/fading Foster but in his backyard. Ahamada certainly was not the beneficiary of the soft matchmaking so prevalent in the sport currently.

 

Funny isn't it that this thread is since the 70's yet nearly everyone mentioned is from the 70's or 80's. Every other contender since then seems to of won a title.

 

Loads more belts now, maybe the talent pools dropped too

 

The guy in my avatar, if he isn't the best..he'd beat the best.

 

Exactly my point. Chances are everyone mentioned so far would be a champ now.

 

Excellent call on Ahumada!! For all the world, he should have had his hand raised in victory over Bob Foster in '74..he should have been crowned champion.

 

I recall LaRocca. I thought he was on his way around the point when he was beating the Bobby Joe Youngs and Pete Ranzanys and Manning Galloways of the world -- then I think he got a shot at the Euro title and lost.

I don't think he's in the category of best fighters since the 1970s to fail to win a title, but he was a solid contender-class guy.

Lamar Parks might have been the best -- or at least one of the best -- since Jan. 1, 1980, to have never won a title. His career was cut short when he tested HIV positive in the early 1990s. He had lost a decision to Reggie Johnson in his first title fight and recovered nicely with a winning streak.