Error code: %{errorCode}
The Best Fighters to Never Get a World Title Shot
Every boxer dreams of becoming world champion, standing with a belt lifted above their head. The machinations of the sweet science offers plenty of opportunities to fighters, with four titles recognised as world championships in the sport.
Politics can enable some fighters to take shortcuts for their world-title opportunities, whilst also denying others the chance to win a major belt. Some boxers have been cruelly denied by life outside the ring, the timing just slightly wrong.
DAZN News has taken a look at five of the best fighters never to appear in a world-title fight.
Jack Carroll, 84-10-4 (39)
Jack Carroll was an Australian welterweight that fought for 15 years between 1923 and 1938, winning 84 contests, losing 10, and drawing on four occasions.
Carroll would become the number one contender for Barney Ross’ welterweight world titles, but a few stumbling blocks prevented the fight from ever being made.
Promotional differences were cited, but Carroll’s appetite to travel to the United States to face Ross was arguably the biggest reason why the fight never occured.
Carroll is quoted as saying: “I’m such a bad traveller that I’m sick from the time I start travelling to the time I finish.” It is no surprise that all of Caroll’s 98 recorded contests were staged in Australia.
He did fight world-class opposition, defeating American Jimmy Leto three times, Dutch champion Bep van Klaveren twice, and Izzy Jannazzo once – all three fighters ranked at welterweight.
- Read next | Who are the best Australian fighters?
Kirkland Laing, 43-12-1 (24)
Kirkland Laing enjoyed the finer things in life, and ultimately that prevented the Jamaican-born Brit from becoming a world champion.
A British champion at welterweight, Laing burst onto the scene when he performed the upset of the year over the legendary Roberto Duran in 1982, winning via split decision. But any momentum that win provided was quickly lost, as Laing celebrated the victory hard. He took a year off from boxing, where he was stated to have partied for most of his absence.
Promoter Micky Duff was quoted by the Guardian as saying: “Kirkland could have been the best in the world.
“But what am I supposed to do when I don’t know where he is? And what can I do when he is out all night doing God knows what, instead of training? I just gave up on him.”
His laidback style outside the ring was reflected by his approach to fighting, keeping his hands down and throwing flashy combinations.
Upon his death in 2021, it was remarked that Laing was the finest British boxer never to win a world title, with the highest honour he claimed the EBU welterweight strap in 1990.
Despite preferring to party rather than train, Laing would fight until he was 40 – never reaching the heights predicted of him.
- Read next | Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, Josh Taylor: Ranking Britain's best world champions of the 21st century
Jamie Moore, 32-5 (24)
The most recent example on our list, Jamie Moore retired in 2010 at the age of 30.
Formerly the European Boxing Union (EBU), Commonwealth, Irish, and British champion at super welterweight, Moore was forced to cut his career short following medical advice from the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).
He received three letters from the board during the final three years of his career, alerting Moore to changes in his brain scan. His licence was not pulled, but Moore sought out a second medical opinion.
Upon receiving that advice, he called it quits, having lost his last two fights.
Moore was a fan favourite known for his domestic brawls – fights with Michael Jones, Matthew Macklin and Ryan Rhodes that ultimately left the Salford fighter with a lot of damage.
His bout with Rhodes was the closest he got to a world-title shot, Rhodes ending a back-and-forth contest with a seventh-round stoppage in a final eliminator for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight title.
That was his penultimate fight, Moore retiring ahead of the seventh round of his final contest with Siarhei Khamitski in 2010.
Moore was not able to become a world champion himself, but instead he has guided others to the pinnacle of the sport as a trainer.
Champions Carl Frampton and Chantelle Cameron both worked with Moore, who was named 'Trainer of the Year' in 2018.
Bob Satterfield, 50-25-4 (35)
Bob Satterfield was an American heavyweight that fought 79 times between 1945 and 1957, winning 50 contests, losing 25, and drawing a further four bouts.
35 of his wins came by way of knockout, with The Ring including Satterfield at number 58 in their top 100 punchers of all time in 2003.
That punching power enabled Satterfield to compete with bigger men, the 5’ 10” ‘Bombardier’ competing at heavyweight despite often being at least 10 pounds lighter than his opponent. His biggest disadvantage was a lack of stamina and a susceptible chin, two factors that did not marry well to his aggressive style.
Never a challenger for a world title, Satterfield appeared in The Ring’s annual rankings for heavyweight three times during the 1950s, highlighting his status as a top contender.
When he faced past and future world champions, he often lost. Jake LaMotta, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, and Harold Johnson all inflicted defeats upon Satterfield, who retired at the start of 1958 due to a detached retina.
Satterfield fought during a crowded era of American boxing stars, the aforementioned Moore and Charles, Floyd Patterson, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano controlling the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions.
‘The Bombardier’ did not help himself in terms of getting a title shot, his tendency to swap gyms and trainers impacting his position in the politics of boxing.
Lenny Mancini, 46-12-3 (16)
Lenny Mancini was an American fighter active during the 1930s and 1940s, earning the nickname ‘Boom Boom’ for attacking style. A fan favourite, Mancini quickly worked his way up through the lightweight ranks to become a contender.
Mancini did fight a reigning champion in the form of Sammy Angott, the National Boxing Association (now World Boxing Association) lightweight title holder.
However, their 1941 clash was a non-title bout, fought over 135lbs and only 10 rounds, a fact that proved immaterial as Angott took a majority decision.
The referee on the night scored it for ‘Boom Boom’, with the crowd booing after the result was announced. That fight produced the biggest purse of Mancini’s career; $5,000.
By the end of the year, Mancini had established himself as the number one contender for Agnott’s title. Negotiations for a rematch had started, but Mancini’s hopes of becoming a world champion were dashed when he was drafted into the army after the United States entered World War II.
A request for a 30-day furlough was denied, even though Mancini offered the entirety of his purse to the army. He would join the medical corps, before being reassigned as an infantryman.
In November 1944, he was struck by a mortar shell whilst stationed in Metz, France. Shrapnel caused massive damage to his back, leg, and arm, eventually leading to an honourable discharge in June 1945, with Mancini also receiving a Purple Heart.
He returned to the ring in October the same year, but after ballooning to 190lbs during the war, he could only cut down to middleweight despite only being 5’ 2”. He would retire at 28, ‘Boom Boom’ never returning to title contention.
A Mancini would one day win the WBA’s lightweight title, with Lenny’s son Ray becoming world champion in 1982.
Watch over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters with a DAZN subscription. More information here.
