The best Heavyweights never to win a Heavyweight world title?

Henry Cooper

 

David Tua is higher than most of these.

Also Ron Lyle, Lou Nova, Tommy Farr, Peter Jackson and Joe Goddard come to mind.

 

Tau, Lyle, Quarry, Machen, Folley could all have beaten some of the earlier champions.some of the later mediocre champions too

 

Jimmy Young.

 

Ike Ibeabuchi
David Tua
Personally I don't follow heavyweight champions the better one never become champs.

 

David Tua-

Tua knocked out Lineal HW Champ Michael Moorer in 30 seconds.

He knocked out WBA HW Champ John Ruiz in 19 seconds.

He stopped Lineal HW Champ Hasim Rahman (KO10). Their rematch was a draw.

He stopped WBC HW Champ Oleg Maskaev (KO11).

Went toe to toe with Ike Ibeabuchi for 12 rounds in a fight that could have went either way. He didn't have a mark on him after the fight.

He took Lennox Lewis' best punches for 12 rounds and didn't even look like he had been in a fight afterward.

Slickster Chris Byrd beat him by decision but Tua won about 5 rounds.

He also stopped notable fighters-

Darroll Wilson KO1, David Izon KO12, Obed Sulivan KO1, Robert Daniels KO3(WBA CW Champ), Danell Nicholson KO6, Fres Oquendo KO9, and Shane Cameron KO2 among others.

At his best he was a very good fighter, at his worst he is still impossible to stop.

 

From 1974-1978 Jimmy Young was very good.

During this stretch he fought Ernie Shavers to a draw that could have went his way. Shavers had stopped Young (KO3) 1 year, 9 months, and one week earlier, but that was Young's 11th pro fight... Young improved a lot. He beat Richard Dunn, Jose L. Garcia, Ron Lyle x2, and George Foreman (he even dropped him) among others. During this time he also lost decisions to Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton, and Ossie Ocasio that could have went his way. I wonder how he would have done vs. Frazier and Holmes.

 

Sam Langford, Sam McVea, Joe Jeanette, Harry Wills, are obvious choices.

Oscar Bonavena was very good.

Oscar was only stopped once in 68 pro fights... LTKOby15 Ali (3 knockdown rule, 57 seconds left in the fight).

He beat among others-

T. McNeeley KO5, G. Peralta W12, G. Chuvalo W10, K. Mildenberger W12, Zora Folley W10 (avenging an earlier decision loss in Oscar's 9th pro fight), and Larry Middleton W12.

He dropped Frazier twice and lost by SD10 in their first fight. Frazier won the rematch, W15. He gave Ellis a tough fight but lost by decision. He lost close decisions to Patterson and Lyle.

 

Some LHWs who had good wins at HW are-

Tommy Loughran, Archie Moore, Harold Johnson, and Jimmy Bivins.

 

Machen and Folley for sure!

 

Hookie, tua won four round against Byrd over a ten rounder

 

Relative to era, I'd probably say Wills.

Actual best, maybe Ike although I thought Tua beat him.

 

Peter Jackson...

 

Ron Lyle, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, George Chaplin, and Earnie Shavers.