Worst Lineal Heavyweight Champions: A List

I think John L needs a mention despite his legend status.

 

Terrible.

Jack Sharkey should be no where on the list.

He was inconsistent, but with enough top wins to make him a fringe ATG

Even ignoring the controversial Schmeling and Dempsey fights, he has wins over George Godfrey, Harry Wills, Primo Carnera, Tommy Loughran, Jack Delaney, Young Stribling etc.

 

Put Nandrolone Fury on that list too. He has never defended a belt and is also a steroid cheat

 

I don't care about the peds but never defending is inexcusable

 

Douglas should absolutely not be on here. His top wins are exemplary and he'd slap ten bells of **** outta everyone else on this list and quote comfortableness do so to plenty of other champions.

 

Briggs is worse than anyone on that list. His lineal win was a highly controversial decision over a 49 year old, who clearly boxed circles around him in a glorified sparring match. Briggs is a titlist but otherwise has spent most his career as a gatekeeper and fringe contender.

Moorer and old Foreman were also pretty bad as they were never viewed as the best or even elite despite their lineal victory. Moorer's resume was always thin, his upset win over Holyfield had many controversies, and he would lose his first defense to the oldest Challenger ever, who had actually just been outboxed by Tommy Morrison. Foreman used the lineal title to go into semi-retirement, surving disputed decisions with fringe fighters ....actually rotted away in obscurity while the world watched Tyson vs Holyfield.

I'd rate Sharkey, Baer, and Douglas over them. Baer's wins over Schmeling and Carnera actually briefly cemented him as the best heavy. Douglas win over Tyson launched him into consideration. And Sharkey had an outstanding record.

 

Awful list.

Jack Sharkey and Max Baer are closer to being the best lineal champion, than they are to being the worst.

Marvin Hart and Primo Carnera are nowhere near the bottom.

Shannon Briggs was worse than almost everybody on the list.

 

Hart is certainly near the bottom. Naming five worse than him is extremely difficult.

 

If it's Tokyo Douglas version then yes if it's the Holyfield version then no.

 

Not an easy list to make. Someone like Douglas would obviously be nowhere near it if you're talking about talent, which he wasn't short of. And he wrested the title away from a great champion in magnificent style, which is more than can be said for some of the usual suspects listed above. But on the other hand his career outside of that flattered to deceive, and the three-round, flabby reign he put up as champion was a disgrace to the title. Do you go on perceived head-to-head abilities? If so, then someone like Tommy Burns could be in here - defended his title plenty of times and with professionalism, but are there really more than nine other lineal Champions he could ever have beaten? Probably not.

Anyway, just a rough list for the time being.

1) Shannon Briggs 2) Marvin Hart 3) Hasim Rahman 4) Leon Spinks 5) Ingemar Johansson 6) Primo Carnera 7) Jess Willard 8) Jim Corbett 9) Buster Douglas 10) Michael Spinks

 

Lineal Heavyweight Champion to me says you are top dog, as a lifelong boxing fan that for me means i am not going to look at saying a winner is the worst, most beat the man who beat the man that is good enough for me.

Spinks in only his 8th pro bout beat the possible greatest heavyweight champ ever Ali.
Willard beat the wise old Johnson
Douglas crushed the invincibility aura of the youngest heavyweight champ ever
etc etc.

i'd settle for being called the worst lineal champion, 99.9% of boxers never even get opportunity to fight for the title, let alone become the champion.

 

When worst is mentioned here ,,,Leon Spinks is the first one in line.

 

I am not sure to be honest.

Some guys on that list only really have one or two good wins.

Hart has five or six!

 

I would say that the men in

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are being sold short here!