Lee Savold - a heavyweight champion?

Part of this was Charles had won an IBC 4 man tournament with Maxim, Kahut and Baksi. Walcott presumably got a bye because he'd done well against Louis.

 

Walcott kept getting byes from the mob until he finally won a title. If he’d have lost to Ezz again, he’d have probably gotten yet another shot.

 

Good looking out!

I'm going to add him and the ABA. Because really the point I made is secondary and opinionative compared to the list as a resource. I'm going to add a few names, do a little more than off the cuff it, and repost it as nothing more or less than a list of men who won fights billed as HW champion but are not recognized today as champions.

Cheers bud, I appreciates you.

 

and


I was sort of hoping if I mention it someone else will handled the details. It's one of the best stories in boxing and if no one had I was just to give the thread a while to get more posts between my own before I did it.

One of the best stories in boxing, no doubt.

Your join date is so long ago and the style of this post, guy, I think I might have first learned this story from you. That's almost exactly how it was laid out to me. You look into it and everything being true just makes it hilarious. Boxing's great for everything, even comedy.


Either way, top notch, take a bow, no man could have said it better!

 

Appreciate it.

A lot of these claimants come from the pre belt era too.

Ones I've got from there are Cardiff, Killen, McAuliffe, Peter Jackson, Slavin, Creedon, Goddard, Schreck, Jack Twin Sullivan and Kaufman.

Schreck and Twin Sullivan were also claimants at 175 and at 175 there was also a short lived Kid Norfolk/Clay Turner lineage that doesn't seem to have been backed by a sanctioning body.

 

At this point it was sorta defendable. Since Louis was retiring one who almost beat him being considered "the man" to beat for the title was fair enough. Added to the later stuff its kind of absurd.

 

So many spurious claims to world titles over the years. Here are a few more:

Len Harvey and Tancy Lee - IBU world champs (I know there are more)
Les Darcy - Australian version of world middleweight champ
Charlie Shipes - California version of world welterweight champ
Johnny Famechon - Australian version of world featherweight champ
Kenny Lane - Michigan version of world lightweight champ
Virgil Akins - Massachusetts version of world welterweight champ
Raul Rojas - California version of world jr. lightweight champ
Jem Driscoll - British version of world featherweight champ

I'm sure there are more.

 

When Walcott won the title against Ezzard, it was his fifth heavyweight title try. Ezz had already beaten him twice. He lost a VERY one-sided decision (scorecards favored Charles by 10, 16 and 18 points) and was knocked down for a 9-count and ‘somehow’ got an immediate rematch.

He was on a two-fight losing streak when he got the title shot vs. Charles that he finally won. He was 5-5 in his last 10.

Walcott giving Louis a close fight happened in December 1947 should have no bearing on his getting a title shot in the spring of 1951.

He got a rematch with Joe and was knocked out. Then he got to fight Charles for the vacant title and lost. Then he got another shot at Ezzard and lost, in one-sided fashion. I’d say that’s more than enough mileage out of giving an old and fading champ a close fight.

Everything about the situation is sketchy at best.

 

Journeyman gonna journeyman.

 

The truth be known Joe Goddard won the World's Heavyweight Title in Johannesburg on Nov. 7, 1896 against a dangerous and virile Denver Ed Smith by KO4

 

It was actually JJW fifth try!

 

Thanks. I corrected it.

 

Yeah bro, mine!

They should be posted to this forum. I'll have a dig around.

There's a book about this stuff that was rather good. I should have it's name for you too when i post next. I think that book might be what you really want. A real explanation rather than tidbits I can remember or have posted.