Who is the best heavyweight contender ever to have fought for a world title?

Question

who didn't actually win a heavyweight world title at any point in their career, in your opinion?

Answer 1

Several fighters come to mind.  Here is  list of some of them:

Earnie Shavers

Oscar Bonavena

Jerry Quarry

George Chuvalo

Cleveland Williams

Zora Folley

McArthur Foster

Henry Cooper

Luis Firpo

Tommy Gibbons

Arturo Goday

Tommy Farr

Roland LaStarza

Joe Bugner

Lou Nova

Sailor Tom Sharkey

Out of this list my top 5 are:

1.  Tommy Gibbons  56-4-1 (44)

2.  Sailor Tom Sharkey  40-6-0 (37)

3.  Earnie Shavers  74-14-1 (68)

4.  George Chuvalo  73-18-2 (64)

5.  Oscar Bonavena  56-9-1 (42)

Answer 2

billy conn, who had the immortal joe louis beaten for 12 and a half rounds...

tommy loughran, another light heavy great who had the misfortune of meeting primo carnera, who outweighed him by 80 pounds (5 and a half stone aprox)

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Answer 3

OMG it is definitely James "Buster" Douglas, the night he beat Tyson was probably the biggest upset in the history of the sport. To this day sports broadcast still do documentaries about that fight

Answer 4

Butterbean he kicks A. Cause he can knock a guy down on his back with a simple haymaker.

Answer 5

Danny Williams coz he beat tyson.

Answer 6

ONE:  George Chuvalo.  The man STILL can't buy a drink anywhere in Canada for the heroics he showed in his multiple fights with Ali, Frazier, and Foreman.  In any other era, he'd have been undisputed.  

TWO:  Jake Kilrain.  You've gotta go way back to uncover this name.  He was "given" the "world title" by Richard K. Fox of the "Police Gazette" newspaper as a means of getting John L. Sullivan into the ring.  While given a mediochre chance at winning against "Big Sully". . . .Kilrain made history by lasting SEVENTY-FIVE ROUNDS in the last ever BAREKNUCKLE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT.  (In my book, this deserves a WALL full of plaques)

THREE:  Earnie Shavers.  Ali called him "the Acorn" before their fight.  After their fight. . . he called him SIR.  

***Great question. . . .

Answer 7

You didn't say Danny Williams because you are a muslim by any chance did you??

Henry Cooper is best Heavyweight not to have won a World Title