Which heavyweight champions were just contenders who got lucky?

Marciano must top the list.

WW2 thinned the herd of viable man-sized heavyweights. Sometimes timing is what it's all about.

 

You’re a saint.

You left out my man Ingemar (but included Floyd as a maybe?). Valhalla awaits you.

The cheque is also in the mail for the totally unrelated thing.

 

WBA Champion Mike Hercules Weaver on March 31 1980, Mike was being badly outclassed by then champion Big John Tate for 15 rounds, then Boom, a dynamite left hook connected on the jaw of Tate, and nighty night. Weaver was crowned the new WBA Heavyweight Champion after ten seconds.

 

I don't buy that the color line era was the "golden era" of boxing, nor that Charles, Walcott, and Moore represented a regression from Carnera, Braddock, and Baer.

By the way, check the size of American gridiron football teams of the 1930's and compare them to the 1950's. Why did they get bigger if the herd was thinned of big men. The same is true in baseball and other sports.

 

Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton. Did I get it right?

 

Douglas was a big bag of wasted potential. Trained and focused, he was great. He likely had the potential to be the 5th elite of that era.

 

Bermane Stiverne, but he was not a lineal champion.

 

Leon Spinks and Bonecrusher Smith are the 2 that stand out for.me.

 

Foreman's schtick had run its course and the PTB tired of him. Hence the questionable decision loss against Shannon Briggs.

 

all champion are contender who was lucky!

 

That wasn't luck. That was a brilliant performance. It's too bad he went from his career best performance to his career worst, back to back. Did he train at ALL for his fight with Holyfield?

Shame he couldn't stay focused. Buster at his best was like a Larry Holmes with more power.

 

We are in agreement. Lineal Champions all! #RESPECT for all of them.

 

I am surprised nobody named Ken Norton yet.

Thus, I am gonna make a case for a fighter I am a great fan.

My man Kenny was a true fighter and in any regular era he would have been a champion. However, in the HW crowded 70s he actually had no business holding a belt. His fate was to be essentially another gifted and brave contender, just like Quarry, Young, Shavers, etc.

Kenny had a outstanding career, but by 1978 he could be considered done and in his way out. He had suffered a devastating loss to Foreman, and most important: fought 3 times with Ali, winning only once, with at least one fight being unjustly gifted to Ali. That devastated Kenny and he started to slide down.

However, fate intervened and for once Kenny got a lucky break. He was supposed to fight Ali again for the WBC belt, but Ali wanted nothing to do with Kenny and he soon lost to Spinks. Then Kenny was supposed to fight Spinks, but Spinks refused and the WBC stripped him and granted the title to Kenny.

Thus, Kenny suddenly was elevated to champion status, but that was not meant to last: He held the title for just 3 months before losing to the up and coming Holmes. And that was it for Kenny.

Surely a case can be made that there were others more deserving of being title holders, but for me it is just poetic justice how Kenny still became a champion, and I am glad the stars briefly aligned allowing my man Kenny to put his name in the roll call of HW champions during the golden era.