Name least deserving world titleholders in boxing history

Michael bent

 

I came in here to say Santana.

 

David Diaz deserves mention. He had never beaten anyone good and won the title against a shot Erik Morales who had lost three straight fights and was fighting in the wrong weightclass.

 

So did I. But I do have a few more.

Babe Risko - dropped 2 out of his last three and with an unexceptional record he gets a title shot and beats Teddy Yarosz. He gets KO'd in the 1st round by Jock mcAvoy in a non-title, but instead of defending against his outstanding challenger he defends against Tony Fisher who possessed a record of 6-9 or something like that. After losing a few more non-titles he loses it to the outstanding Freddie Steele. It should be noted that he was said to be all mobbed up.

Keith Mullings - before fighting and winning the title from a shopworn Terry Norris, Mullings' last 6 fights going into the bout yielded a record of 1-4-1. He wins one more fight and then retires after dropping his next 4 with a final tally of 16-8-1.

 

Lamont Peterson. I empathize with the hard luck story, but as a 2 division world champ, I simply can't justify it.

*The hometown screw job on Khan
*the PED scandal (which the IBF ought to have stripped him for, but didn't)
*maintaining his belt after Matthysse knocked him into bolivion
*was lucky to get a draw vs Ortiz after being fooled and schooled by Bradley
*becomes a 2 division "champion" when he beat something called a David Avanesyan, whatever that is.

 

Keith Mullings fought Raul Marquez for his IBF belt, beat the hell out of Marquez, turned him into a bloody mess, and got robbed. So Hall of Famer Terry Norris agreed to defend his WBC title against him, and Mullings knocked Norris out.

Regardless of his record, in those two bouts, Mullings essentially proved he was better than the top two guys in the division. And after making one successful defense, Mullings lost his title via majority decision in Spain against Spaniard Javier Castillejo ... who would go on to stop Felix Sturm for his middleweight title.

I don't how that made Mullings "undeserving."

Winning a vacant strap against a nobody (like Glazkov) because the nobody twists his knee ... is undeserving.

Knocking out a Hall of Famer for his title isn't.

 

Shannon Briggs

 

Well, Bent maybe was a weak champion but not an undeserved one, he won his title by a first round stoppage, blame Morrison's chin and the three knockdown rule.

 

Thomas molinares welter wgt 1988. Caught Marlon starling with a punch clearly after the bell. Was stripped of the belt some time after for inability to make the weight.

 

Definitely Luis Santana and Jorge Vaca.

 

Perhaps I'm interpreting this differently (which wouldn't be the first time). Mullings certainly deserved his win over Norris and I'm not saying Mullings wasn't talented, but he was an undeserving challenger. I'm old school in the fact that I think there should be something remarkable about a challenger and Mullings' last six record of 1-4-1 going into his bout with Norris was highly unremarkable. And I can't condone a losing fight as cause for a title shot just because he 'gave it a good go'. There were too many great fighters that rotted on the vine who couldn't get a title shot to give Mullings a nod. So I acquiesce to the letter of this thread which is 'Undeserving titleholders' rather than 'undeserving challengers' which my addled brain somehow interpreted. Undeserving titleholders should be guys like Santana who saw an opportunity to win the title while laying on the canvas or someone who cops the title on an atrocious decision. My bad.

 

Vaca was the first to come to mind with me too. Winning the title by a 'technicality'

 

Lee Savold--a contender for close to 15 years who fought them all, but lost to all the best, he was picked as I think a victim for Bruce Woodcock in a world championship match sanctioned by the British Board of Boxing Control. The Brits had a point in that the British and European champions had been ignored by the NBA who matched Ezzard Charles & Jersey Joe Walcott for the title. American arrogance aside, Charles & Walcott were the best contenders, but there probably should have been a tourney with Woodcock & Ole Tandberg taking part. Savold upset the applecart by beating Woodcock. His "reign" ended the following June when he was stopped by the come-backing Joe Louis who had earlier lost to Charles. Charles then gained universal recognition. Savold was a willing fighter, and might well have been able to upset a couple of legit but weak champs, but his title claim was nonexistent.

Ernie Terrell--another decent contender, and a notch above Savold, but won his "title" by beating Eddie Machen who was coming off a loss to Patterson, and then defended against Chuvalo (another Patterson victim) and Doug Jones (a Chuvalo victim). Terrell was exposed by Ali, and then quickly eliminated by the ordinary Thad Spencer and Manuel Ramos.

Jimmy Ellis--a puffed up middleweight who was never better than the #3 heavyweight and was totally exposed in one-sided fights by both Frazier and Ali.

Marvin Hart--won a dubious decision in early 1905 over Jack Johnson. I guess some might claim this made him a legit champion, but he actually won the title by beating Jack Root(?). He lost to Tommy Burns in his first defense. Burns had been negotiating to fight middle champion Tommy Ryan and when the negotiations fell through, Hart was subbed. I think Hart was a dubious champion.

Jack Sharkey & Primo Carnera--in fairness, both beat the man and so were legit, but Sharkey got the title in a rotten decision, and then lost to Carnera. I don't think either were better than the third best heavyweight when they were champions.

 

The whole Woodcock -Savold thing was a travesty anyway. That was nothing more than the Brits trying to make a case for Woodcocks pathetic title pretentions by matching him soft with Savold who was past his prime by a fair bit. Woodcock pulled a pathetic quit job when Savold started reaching him in their first fight and the rematch proved why. Neither guy had any right to claim any contendership to the title.