Mulcahey

The Pugil List: 10 Worst Heavyweight Champions of All Time
By Marty Mulcahey (May 16, 2005)

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In honor of HBO's continued insistence on bringing the American public bad heavyweight boxing, as witnessed by the recent flurry of Ruiz and Brewster appearances, I give you the ten worst heavyweight champions of all time.

Not every list has to be positive, especially when it revolves around HBO's recent demotion to the number two boxing network. HBO needs to take note of Showtime's penchant for televising lower weight extravaganzas - which have captured the approval of boxing fans and critics alike.

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You don't need me to tell you the world heavyweight title should be sports’ most cherished sporting achievement on earth, but you might need me to point out the flawed boxers who have held this great prize. This list excludes WBO champions, leaving out the likes of Brewster, Damiani, Bent, Hide, and Akinwande. I could not allow the WBO to take up my entire top ten, thus they were stripped of consideration...just as they strip boxers to suit their purposes.

Let me state that all the boxers on this list are good men, as are most men who dare to enter the ring to pit their skills against another. It takes a special person to become a boxer, even a journeyman, and their inclusion on the ten worst heavies list is not a reflection on their character. To put this list in a better light, let me say that these ten men are simply the worst of the best.

10. John Ruiz - I don't care if Ruiz's manager, Norman Stone, invents a time machine which takes Ruiz back in time to knock out Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, and Jack Dempsey, all on the same night, Ruiz still rates as one of the worst heavyweights of all time for allowing two middleweights to win a portion of the world heavyweight title. For a century, Bob Fitzsimmons was the only middleweight to ever win the world heavyweight title, and then Ruiz allows it to happen not once, but twice within two years. Ruiz does have some quality wins, but the uninspired nature of the wins even degrades those victories.

9. Frank Bruno - Bruno took the lovable loser shtick to new heights in England, and was a worthy addition to the "Horizontal English Heavyweight" lineage. To look at Bruno is to look at a body that cries out to be heavyweight champion....the problem was that Bruno's brain locked up under the bright lights. Frank fought better than average opposition as he came up the European heavy circuit, and dispatched of his first 21 foes by kayo. Then "Bonecrusher" Smith knocked Bruno out after taking him into the deep water of the late rounds. Bruno battled back and lost a WBA shot to Tim Witherspoon, then a unified title opportunity against Mike Tyson. A proven loser on the world stage, Bruno was, of course, given another title shot, which he lost to Lennox Lewis in an all-British affair. Bruno finally won the WBC title when he survived the last three rounds, on guts alone, to defeat Oliver McCall on points. Bruno was summarily knocked out in his first title defense by Mike Tyson.

8. Pinklon Thomas - Let's start with his name. It contains the word pink, and Thomas often wore pink shorts - which hardly evokes fear in opponents - into the ring. There were so many mediocre heavyweights, who had no dedication, who managed to gain fractional shares of the heavyweight crown in the mid 80's so it is hard to choose one above the rest. Thomas did the least, even worse than Page, Weaver, Dokes, Smith, and Berbick. Thomas also makes the list because he had some real talent, but wasted it on drugs (he has since thankfully kicked the habit, and helped others do the same) and partying. Thomas was 24-0-1 (his toughest foe, Gerrie Coetzee, held him to the draw) when he challenged for the title, and won a very close majority decision over Tim Witherspoon. One title defense win over Mike Weaver is all Thomas had in him, as he lost his title to Trevor Berbick in his next fight, which might have been best for him in retrospect, as it delayed Thomas doing the wacky dance after getting hit by a Tyson hook. The loss did push back, for a year, an eventual knockout to Tyson when Thomas challenged Tyson for his old title.

7. Tony Tubbs - Tubbs' body reflected his surname....he was tubby all right. Then you add an obvious disregard for the truth in advertising laws by nicknaming himself "TNT"
(24 KOs in 57 bouts), and you have a good case for his inclusion in this top ten. Tubbs defeated underachiever Greg Page for the WBA title, in a bout that deserved to be banished to....I mean staged in Buffalo, New York. Tubbs expeditiously lost the title to Tim Witherspoon in his next fight, and dropped a third title shot to Mike Tyson two years later. Tubbs regressed to the point of losing NABF and IBO title shots, but don't count Tubbs out just yet, as he just won the 'West Virginia state heavyweight title' by defeating Brian Minto last December at age 46.

6. Leon Spinks - One great win does not a career make...even though twenty years from now the International Boxing Hall of Fame voters might think otherwise and put Leon next to Ingo, and Braddock. In retrospect, it might have been better for Leon if he had never won the title from Ali. He became the butt of jokes for late night comedians and did little to help his cause by continuously showing up on police blotters, and for the rematch with Ali. Leon was skilled, as his Gold Medal win at the 1976 Olympics suggests, but he was overwhelmed by the trappings of success after defeating Ali in only his eighth fight via split decision. The poor kid could not win after that, as he was stripped of his WBC title for fighting Ali in a rematch...and then lost his WBA title to Ali in their rematch! Spinks even dropped down in weight to the cruiserweight division to lose a title shot. This was a case of too much too soon. Too bad, because Leon was a could have been.

5. James Braddock - Braddock was a great man, and was a great story (as Hollywood is about to prove)...but Braddock was not a great boxer. Braddock's lone great win, over an uninterested and clowning Max Baer, does not take away from the fact that he was an average fighter. Braddock was a bit player in an era of average challengers, who all lived in the fearful shadow that Joe Louis cast upon the division. Braddock serves as a great example of The International Boxing Hall of Fame voters’ lack of research in picking its
enshrinees. The IBHOF obviously works upon name recognition over career achievement. Quick, name a world class heavyweight, Max Baer excluded, who Braddock defeated? Thank you, I rest my case.

4. Ingemar Johansson - Another International Boxing Hall of Fame enshrinee who would have to buy a ticket to enter if his last name was of Asian origin, or if he had fought below lightweight. In fact, Ingemar would have been right at home in the underachieving heavyweight era of the 1980's. Ingo had a great punch, there is no denying that, but he also had the great luck of running into the weakest chinned heavyweight champion of all time. Even so, he lost to Floyd Patterson two out of three times, and by knockout no less.

3. Jess Willard - Through no fault of his own, Willard's best title winning effort remains one of the most controversial fights of all time. Sadly, Willard's best win, over Jack Johnson for the title, is tainted by Johnson's claim that he threw the bout in order to regain entry into the United States. Willard's only other good win was over fellow contender Luther McCarty, and somehow two wins over George (Boer) Rodel served as primers for his title shot against Jack Johnson. Unfortunately for Willard, boxing historians remember him the most for the savage beating he endured at the hands of Jack Dempsey, when he lost the title in his second defense. Willard showed guts, heart, determination, resiliency, and spirit in that fight...but sadly little skill.

2. Marvin Hart - I don't claim to know about all the politics of 1900's boxing, however it had to be pretty bad for Marvin Hart to somehow box his way to the world title. Hart beat former light heavyweight champion Jack Root, who had previously beaten Hart, to win the vacant title, thus, becoming the only man to beat a light heavyweight to win the heavyweight title. Let's give credit to Hart for defeating Jack Johnson, before winning the heavyweight title, even if The Washington Post reported, "Hart's face was battered to a pulp, but Johnson's blows did not seem to have much sting to them." Seven months after winning the title, Hart lost it to Tommy Burns, reportedly losing 18 of the 20 rounds.

1. Primo Carnera - God love Primo, the man had no idea how bad he was. Carnera truly gave everything he had when he entered a ring....the problem was, Carnera did not have
much beyond his size. It might have been the ghost of Ernie Schaaf (who died after his bout with Carnera) that won the heavyweight title for Carnera when he knocked out Jack Sharkey. Sharkey claimed that he saw the image of Schaaf, with whom he was good friends, during his bout with Carnera. Sharkey stated, "I had no trouble with him in the second bout, but all of a sudden - and I can't convince anybody of this, even my own wife has her doubts, I think - I see (Ernie) Schaaf in front of me. I saw Schaaf. A vision. The next thing I know, I'd lost the championship of the world."Credit must be given to Carnera for this win, as it was not fixed and he legitimately landed a good - or lucky and spirit induced - uppercut which knocked Sharkey out. Hey, stranger things have happened in boxing! After all this is the X-files of sports.