Best fighter never to be world champion?

[IronDanHamza]

I don't see how it is illegitimate under these circumstances. The champ essentially moved aside, why is it only legitimate when Norton had then to fight for it as vacant? The understanding of the eliminator was he'd fight the champ, in ordinary eliminator circumstances the organization might allow the champ to fight someone else but in this case decided to strip because they had already had the mandatory guy in the wings for months. Therefore it was like the analogy I gave, that Norton walked into the ring to fight the champion who didn't turn up. At the time the WBC's decision was controversial, in part because it was a new thing to do but surely it was the correct thing to do. Today we have interim champs and they get turned into full champions on similar sorts of circumstances.

And they're just as illegitimate, like I said.

I don't understand how you can think that's it's the same as that A fight wasn't signed. It's nothing like that analogy.

The correct thing to do was have Norton fight the next highest contender for a Vacant belt. Not just hand him one because he earned a shot at the title. Since when is earning a shot at a title a reason to give someone a belt and that being legitimate?

[Ben Bolt]

Today, the draw for the teams in the biggest sport event besides the Olympics was made, i.e. the soccer World Cup in Brazil next year.

If WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO had been involved in soccer, we would have seen four teams play in the 2014 Final (kind of crowded field, anyway ...). And no matter what team had scored the most goals – after the match we would have had four nations crowned 'world champions'.
Well, the soccer world had gone riot. Like any other sport …

… except boxing. How on earth did we get to accept the mess the alphabet gangs brought into our sport?

[billeau2]

Today, the draw for the teams in the biggest sport event besides the Olympics was made, i.e. the soccer World Cup in Brazil next year.

If WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO had been involved in soccer, we would have seen four teams play in the 2014 Final (kind of crowded field, anyway ...). And no matter what team had scored the most goals – after the match we would have had four nations crowned 'world champions'.
Well, the soccer world had gone riot. Like any other sport …

… except boxing. How on earth did we get to accept the mess the alphabet gangs brought into our sport?

"The Gang That Could Not Shoot Straight" was a book written about the mob by Jimmy Breslin. It was a comedy and....the same charactures he applies to the different wiseguys would work well regarding the boxing commissions...The British Boxing Commission for example: In their effort to succeed and make the sport more popular than a curling competition in Jamacia decides to try to stop what was arguably the best heavyweight fight in years (Haye Chisora) I mean....WE HAVE SO MANY ****ING EXCITING HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHTS...RIGHT?!!!!

It takes a special kind of insolence and dumb-ass-ness to do what the Arums and British Boxing Boards of the world do. Boxing is not only low IQ and selfish (Arum for example) but it is corrupt and too ****** to even be self serving.....So that is why we have more champions than fighters.

[fight_professor]

The debate over is 'x' a legit champion or not, even over someone like Norton who was pure class, is why boxing badly needs a single, global governing body that can create universally accepted champions.

[Ben Bolt]

"Best fighter never to be world champion?"

Wladimir Klitschko.

(I believe that among younger fans WBC is generally considered as the no. 1 org. of the big four. So, if I was a representative for the WBC I would have a strong claim in saying that Wlad never has been a world champion. As WBC never has recognized him as such. Just to illustrate how phony today's situation is.)

[Salardo]

Herol Graham, Packey McFarland deserve a mention.

[Salardo]

Remind me.

I don't recall Norton ever winning the Title although I'm going completely off memory here.

Which fight did he win the title in because the first Ali fight wasn't for the Title and he came up short in his attempts against Foreman and Holmes and for the life of me I can't think of another time.

Ken Norton got awarded the WBC Heavyweight title before his fight with Larry Holmes if I remember right. So he didn't officialy win it in the ring, but he was a world champion.

[JAB5239]

Sam Langford is the obvious choice in my opinion. But I'll throw out Les Darcy to add to the list of fighters named.

[mickey malone]

Sam Langford is the obvious choice in my opinion. But I'll throw out Les Darcy to add to the list of fighters named.

Or Dave Sands even, both were outstanding fighters.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

rocky juarez gets no love i see