Best that never won?

Jackson, Langford and Wills immediately spring to mind. How about Jeanette, Fulton and, of course the threads author too?

 

Tim Witherspoon comes to mind

 

Teofilo Stevens was never a pro fighter

 

A couple of mentions for Witherspoon so far.

What is it that makes you single him out among that era as the best non champion?

 

Excuse me , Tim Witherspoon Won the title not once but twice...

Razor Ruddock is the best to have never fought for the championship..

 

As usual, a good list. I would question Quarry. He failed badly against Frazier and Ali and Norton, and also was edged by Ellis. He couldn't make it close most of the time even in his prime.

Sharkey is thin on top wins and had a short career.

I would replace at least one of those two with Tommy Loughran who defeated over 20 ranked heavyweights, including champions Baer, Braddock, and Sharkey, as well as Greb, and held his own with Tunney.

My list would be Jackson, Langford, Wills, Loughran, Conn, Bivins, Ray, Moore, Young, Norton, Ibeabuchi

 

25 September 1886: Peter Jackson beat Tom Lees (TKO3) to claim the Australian Heavyweight Championship.

24th August 1888: Peter Jackson beats George Godfrey (TKO19) to claim the Coloured World Heavyweight Championship.

25th February 1891: Frank Slavin, the World Heavyweight Champion and holder of Richard K. Fox's Police Gazzette, will go to the USA and defend against the likes of Sullivan, Corbett, Jackson, Mitchell or anyone else. (Sporting Mirror)

30 May 1892: Peter Jackson KO10 Frank Slavin: The fight was billed as being for the World Heavyweight Championship; The Richard K Fox Police Gazzette Championship and the Imperial British Empire Heavyweight Title.

7th September: James J Corbett KO21 John L Sullivan

25th November 1896: Jackson is the Heavyweight Champion of the World (The Mirror of Life)

17th March 1897: Bob Fitzsimmons KO14 James J Corbett

23rd March 1898: James J Jeffries KO2 Peter Jackson

9th June 1899: James J Jeffires KO11 Bob Fitzsimmons

 

He can box, he can punch and he can take punches. I think there is a reason spinks, holyfield, tyson and old foreman never gave him shots at the lineal belt. He was given 1 oppotunity against Holmes and lost by a ****in point.

 

Yeah, Terrible Tim was more interested in drugs and food, than training...

All he had to do was beat a Bonecrusher Smith that he already had easily outpointed a year or so back, and a Tyson fight would of been his... Instead he does not bother to train and gets blown away inside two minutes, thus Smith gets the date.

Whitherspoon blew the Tucker fight, thus any chance of a shot at Holyfield.

He was (IMO) unlucky to lose to Mercer, thus a Foreman fight was not going to happen.

Whitherspoon had arguably as much natural ability as anyone who has had the belt, but he choose to blow it.

 

Yeah becuase bert cooper and old foreman were more deserving of thier shots at holyfield. An inactive frank bruno that tim dusted was more deserving of a shot at tyson.

Grimsley, schultz and savarese, yeah they really deserved to fight for the lineal belt.

 

I've never seen Quarry-Ellis, but I know it was a disputed decision. Quarry did have a draw and win against Patterson, a blow-out over a Shavers who was on an absolutely monstrous winning streak, and a wide UD over an undefeated Lyle. His wins over Mathis, Foster, Middleton and the like are solid as well. I have been doubting Quarry's elite-tier status more and more lately, though- the way he was dismantled every time in his fights with Ali, Frazier and Norton makes for a legitimate argument that Quarry just didn't have the goods to compete with a real all-time great.

Maybe he's 'thin,' but the quality is there, particularly with the Corbett win, and the wins over Goddard, Ruhlin and Choynski are nothing to scoff at. The way he took Jeffries to war and lasted 25 rounds in close fights both times is a big plus for me as well. Other than Jeffries, no one really bested Sharkey until his final 10 fights.

You may be right on this one. I tend to overlook Loughran and remember him mainly for losing to Carnera in that ugly match at heavyweight, but his resume speaks for itself- some newspaper accounts had him winninghis match with Tunney, by the way.
On the other hand, he did lose to quite a few ordinary contenders, like Schaff, Hamas, Risko, and Levinsky, although he beat most of those guys as well. Loughran is pretty hard to place at heavyweight, I'd say.

Obviously nothing very objectionable about this list to me.

 

Yep, or else they would not of got a shot; your tone suggests boxing is corrupt or something!

 

Hello ... Witherspoon held the championship twice.....

And boxed for the titles a few more...

He qualifies for neither of your categories.