Try, try again … and again: Most unsuccessful attempts at a world title

Try as they might, some very high-quality fighters aren’t quite able to get over the hump and win a world title.

They’re excellent professionals who are often able to run the best in their respective weight classes very close but can’t quite beat them. A strong showing often leads to another opportunity, and so on.

One only needs to think back to Oba Carr in the 1990s. The Detroit native was an excellent amateur and was tabbed for future success as a professional.

However, Carr ran into a murderers’ row of tough opposition. He lost in three world title attempts, against Felix Trinidad (TKO 8), Ike Quartey (MD 12) and Oscar De La Hoya (TKO 11), by which time he was worn down to the nub and was never able to achieve what many predicted for him.

There are a handful of men who have had more opportunities than Carr.

On Saturday, Robson Conceicao will make his fourth attempt at a world title when he faces WBC  junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster. 

In previous efforts, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist has come up short. He controversially lost to WBC 130-pound titlist Oscar Valdez (UD 12) in 2021. The Brazilian then dropped a decision to WBC WBO junior lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson (UD 12) the following year. However, Stevenson missed weight. In his third tilt for a world title, Conceicao held WBO beltholder Emanuel Navarrete to a spirited draw.

Conceicao is not the only one. There are in fact several others who, try as they might, couldn’t quite win world titles, no matter how many shots they got. Here, we look at fighters who have been given multiple title opportunities.

Carlos Buitrago
strawweight and junior flyweight, 0-5-1
Once upon a time, Buitrago was being championed by his Nicaraguan countrymen as the next Chocolatito. So far, he’s been unable to reach that lofty status. He has toiled in and around the top 10 in the lightest two weight classes, and when given world title opportunities, he has usually given a good account of himself. However, he came up short against WBO titlist Merlito Sabillo (D 12) in November 2013 and against WBA ruler Knockout CP Freshmart in October 2014 (UD 12) and February 2016 (UD  12), as well as IBF boss Hiroto Kyoguchi (TKO 8) in strawweight title fights. [Editor’s Note: The two fights with Freshmart were interim title fights.] Buitrago stepped to junior flyweight and was stopped by WBO beltholder Angel Acosta (TKO 12) in June 2018 and went the distance against WBO titlist Elwin Soto (UD 12) in October 2020.

Rocky Juarez
featherweight and junior lightweight, 0-5-1
Juarez represented the U.S. at the 2000 Olympics and claimed silver. Much was expected of him as a professional. Juarez was due to face In Jin Chi for the WBC title, but two weeks before the fight he was injured, and Juarez instead faced wily campaigner Humberto Soto for the interim WBC 126-pound strap, dropping a close but unanimous decision in August 2005. He lost a controversial decision to WBO 130-pound titleholder Marco Antonio Barrera (SD 12) in May 2006. The two met in a rematch in September 2006 and Barrera edged matters to win a unanimous decision. After Barrera lost to Juan Manuel Marquez, Juarez was selected to face Marquez and was widely outpointed (UD 12) in November 2007. The snake-bitten Texan dropped back to featherweight for a two-fight series with WBA titlist Chris John (D 12/ UD 12) in February and September 2009.

Mitsunori Seki
flyweight and featherweight, 0-5
The excellent Japanese fighter lost to Pone Kingpetch (SD 15) at flyweight in June 1961. He jumped to featherweight and was stopped by Sugar Ramos (TKO 6) in March 1964. He gave Vicente Saldivar a tough first fight (UD 15) in 1966 but was well-beaten in the return the following year (TKO 7). When the Mexican retired, Seki was matched with another perennial contender, Howard Winstone, to fill the vacancy and was stopped on cuts (TKO 9) in January 1968. Seki retired at just 26 and never fought again.

Leonel Hernandez
junior lightweight, 0-4-1
The usually durable Venezuelan was stopped by WBC 130-pound titleholder Alexis Arguello (TKO 8) in March 1975. Just six months later, he held WBA ruler Alfredo Escalera to a draw over 15 rounds. Escalera’s fellow Puerto Rican Samuel Serrano had picked up the WBA title and twice outboxed Hernandez to win unanimous decisions in June 1977 and June 1981. In between the Serrano fights, Hernandez went to Japan and narrowly lost to WBA titlist Yasutsune Uehara (SD 15) in November 1980.

Michael Spinks (left) proved to be too much for Yaqui Lopez in 1980. (Photo from The Ring archive)

Yaqui Lopez
light heavyweight and cruiserweight, 0-5
The rugged Mexican ran WBC 175-pound titlist John Conteh (UD 15) close in Denmark in October 1976. Lopez gave Victor Galindez all sorts of trouble in two WBA title fights, narrowly losing 15-round unanimous decisions on each occasion, in September 1977 and May 1978. Matthew Saad Muhammad was able to outlast Lopez (TKO 14) in a terrific action-packed contest in July 1980. The fight, a rematch, garnered The Ring’s Fight of The Year award. Lopez stepped up to cruiserweight and was well past his prime when he was easily beaten by WBC holder Carlos De Leon (TKO 4) in September 1983.

Santos Cardona
welterweight and junior middleweight, 0-5
Cardona was widely outpointed by WBC 147-pound titlist Pernell Whitaker (UD 12) in April 1994. However, he was able to quickly secure a WBO 154-pound title opportunity against Verno Phillips. The closeness of their first meeting (UD 12) in November 1994, led to a rematch (SD 12) in February 1995. The competitive nature of those fights earned him a shot at the vacant WBO crown, but he was stopped by Bronko McKart (TKO 9) in March 1996. The Puerto Rican dropped back to 147-pounds and gave a good account of himself though he ultimately lost to WBO beltholder Akhmad Kotiev (UD 12) in November 1998.

Martin Murray
middleweight and super middleweight, 0-4-1
Murray had won British and Commonwealth middleweight titles when he was surprisingly offered a shot at WBA titleholder Felix Sturm in Germany in December 2011. Many people thought Murray deserved the win, but he had to settle for a draw. He was able to parlay that into a fight with WBC champion Sergio Martinez in Argentina. Although Murray enjoyed his successes, he was unable to unseat the defending champion (UD 12). The Brit also challenged WBA titlist Gennadiy Golovkin (TKO 11) in February 2005 and WBO 168-pound titleholder Arthur Abraham (SD 12) in November 2015. In his final attempt, he lost a lopsided decision to Billy Joe Saunders (UD 12) in what proved to be his final fight in December 2020.

Joao Henrique
​​junior welterweight, 0-4
Henrique showed considerable promise, with the only blemish on his record a draw against former 140-pound champion Eddie Perkins. However, he was unable to get defensive wizard Nicolino Locche (UD 15) in a WBA title fight, WBC counterpart Bruno Arcari (UD 15/KO 12) and WBC titlist Perico Fernandez (KO 9) in his four-world title attempts in the late 1960s-70s. Henrique never lost in Brazil; all four of his title losses came overseas.

Armando Muniz
welterweight, 0-4
Muniz was a very good amateur who represented the U.S. at the 1968 Olympics. As a professional, Muniz’s road to the title was a difficult one. He suffered some learning-curve losses along the way, but by 1975 he had found his stride and challenged unified champion Jose Napoles, giving the legendary Cuban all he could handle in two excellent tussles (TD 12/UD 15) in 1975. He put up another really good effort against WBC beltholder Carlos Palomino (TKO 15) in January 1977. Palomino also defeated him in a rematch (UD 15) in May 1978. Read this story and learn which of his foes Muniz believes had the best overall skills.

Martin Vargas
junior flyweight and flyweight, 0-4
Vargas was able to give WBC flyweight king Miguel Canto (UD 15/UD 15) two hard-fought challenges in 1977. He was stopped by WBA 112-pound titlist Betulio Gonzalez (TKO 12) in November 1978. In one final effort, the Chile-born fighter dropped down to junior flyweight, where he was stopped by WBA incumbent Yoko Gushiken (KO 8) in June 1980.

Ruben Castillo
featherweight and junior lightweight, 0-4
The Texan gave WBC 130-pound titleholder Alexis Arguello all he could handle before the Nicaraguan great rallied to stop him in 11 rounds in January 1980. Castillo dropped to featherweight and put up another strong showing, losing a hard-fought encounter with WBC titleholder Salvador Sanchez (UD 15) in April 1980. As Castillo showed signs of wear and tear, he was outpointed by WBC featherweight titlist Juan Laporte (UD 12) in February 1983, and was then stopped by rising WBC titlist Julio Cesar Chavez (TKO 6) in April 1985.

Mario Martinez cracks the great Azumah Nelson in the their 1989 rematch. The proud Mexican lost both bouts. (Photo from The Ring archive)

Mario Martinez
junior lightweight and lightweight, 0-4
As a teenager, Martinez challenged Julio Cesar Chavez for the vacant WBC 130-pound title and was stopped in eight rounds in September 1984. Later in the decade, he twice gave Azumah Nelson (SD 12/TKO 12) difficult title defenses. In his final attempt at a world title, “Azabache” stepped up to lightweight and was widely outpointed by WBO titlist Dingaan Thobela (UD 12) in March 1991.

Juan Carlos Gimenez
super middleweight, 0-4
Gimenez learned his trade on the notoriously tough South American circuit. He claimed the continent’s light heavyweight title in the early 1980s and stayed active largely close to home. A big opportunity came against Roberto Duran (UD 10) in September 1987, but Gimenez was outpointed. He won his next 11 fights and was finally rewarded with a shot at Mauro Galvano’s WBC 168-pound title in Italy in February 1992. Despite a good effort, Gimenez lost a 12-round unanimous decision. He also lost against WBO 168-pound titlist Chris Eubank (UD 12) and WBC counterpart Nigel Benn (UD 12) in the early to mid-1990s in England. The seasoned Paraguayan made one final attempt at a world title but was stopped for the first time in his career by WBO ruler Joe Calzaghe (RTD 9) in April 1998.

Arthur Johnson
flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight, 0-4
Johnson was a decorated amateur who represented the U.S. at the 1988 Olympics. He retired from boxing but re-considered, turning professional in May 1992. After just 20 months as a pro, in his ninth fight, he took on IBF 112-pound titleholder Pichit Sithbangprachet in Thailand. Despite an excellent performance, he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision. The following summer, Johnson dropped a majority decision against WBO 115-pound titleholder Johnny Tapia (MD 12). Johnson dropped back to flyweight and earned a third title shot, this time against IBF titlist Mark Johnson, who stopped the weight-drained St. Louis resident in one round in February 1998. Johnson moved up to bantamweight, where he was widely outpointed by Tim Austin (UD 12) in August 2000.

​Joel Luna Zarate
junior bantamweight, 0-3-1
After 23 straight wins, Zarate challenged fellow Mexican Julio Cesar Borboa for the IBF title and dropped a spirited unanimous decision in May 1993. He worked his way toward a shot at WBC kingpin Gerry Penalosa in April 1998. However, their fight ended early due to a head clash that rendered the contest a technical draw in the second round. The following year, Zarate traveled to Seoul, South Korea, to face Penalosa’s conqueror, In Joo Cho, and lost a 12-round majority decision. Lastly, Zarate ventured to Nicaragua and made one final attempt, losing to Adonis Rivas (UD 12) in September 2000.

Thomas Tate
middleweight, super middleweight, 0-4
Tate made his way through the ranks before facing big-punching WBC 160-pound beltholder Julian Jackson in August 1992. Tate was on the canvas in the fourth round but lasted the distance; he lost a 12-round unanimous decision. Tate was stopped by otherworldly IBF kingpin Roy Jones Jr. (TKO 2) in May 1994. The Houston-based fighter moved up to super middleweight and was unable to defeat IBF titlist Sven Ottke in September 1999 (TD 11) and in June 2002 (UD 12). See what Ottke thought of Tate’s game here.

John Brown
junior lightweight and lightweight, 0-4
This tough American worked his way up and was stopped by a prime Shane Mosley (TKO 8) in an IBF lightweight title tilt in April 1999. He dropped to 130 pounds and gave IBF beltholder Diego Corrales (UD 12) a solid night’s work in December 1999. Brown met compatriot Steve Forbes for the vacant IBF 130-pound title in December 2000. He was ahead on two of the scorecards after seven rounds but was cut inside his ear and the fight was stopped. In the rematch in September 2001, Forbes (UD 12) kept his title.

Lennox Lewis crushes Andrew Golota in the opening round. (Photo from The Ring archive)

Andrew Golota
heavyweight, 0-3-1
Golota was twice disqualified for low blows against Riddick Bowe. However, his stock went up in losing efforts and he met WBC titleholder Lennox Lewis in October 1997. The Pole froze and was stopped in one round. It took Golota seven years to get another shot, but he was able to put forth a sterling effort against IBF titlist Chris Byrd (D 12) in April 2004. He dropped WBA titlist John Ruiz twice but was unable to get the win and lost a close but unanimous decision in November 2004. Golota was stopped by WBO beltholder Lamon Brewster (TKO 1) in his final title attempt in May 2005.

Jose Navarro
junior bantamweight, 0-4
Navarro was a 2000 U.S Olympian. He turned professional the following year and won 21 fights to earn a shot at WBC 115-pound titlist Katsushige Kawashima in Japan in January 2005. Navarro appeared to do enough to win, but two of the three judges scored in favor of the home fighter. A year later, Navarro returned to Japan to face Kawashima’s conqueror, Masamori Tokuyama, who outboxed him and won a unanimous decision. Unperturbed, Navarro fought his way back into contention and ventured to Russia to face Dmitri Kirilov for the vacant IBF title in October 2007. A third-round knockdown proved pivotal, and Navarro lost a unanimous decision. In one final attempt, he lost a split decision to WBC titleholder Cristian Mijares in Las Vegas in February 2008.

Hiroyuki Kudaka
flyweight and junior bantamweight, 0-4
Kudaka started his career with two losses and dropped a decision in a shot at the national title. However, he upset former world title challenger Hussein Hussein (UD 10) and was rewarded with a fight against WBA 112-pound beltholder Takefumi Sakata (UD 12). His earnest showing got him a fight with Sakata’s conqueror, Denkaosan Kaovichit, in Thailand (SD 12). He returned to Asia and upset previously unbeaten Panomroonglek Kaiyanghadaogym and parlayed that into a WBA 115-pound fight with Hugo Cazares, who beat him by 12-round unanimous decision. The tough Japanese fighter again caused an upset, this time over former Ring/WBC champion Sonny Boy Jaro, and in his final world title tilt he was stopped by Omar Narvaez (TKO 10) in Argentina.

David Carmona
junior bantamweight, 0-3-1
The Mexican was stopped by wily WBO titlist Omar Narvaez (TKO 7) in December 2013. Narvaez conqueror Naoya Inoue was sidelined through injury and Carmona was matched with Warlito Parrenas (D 12) for the Interim WBO title in July 2015. When Inoue returned in May 2016, he kept his title with a unanimous decision. Carmona was later stopped by WBA titleholder Kal Yafai (RTD 7) in May 2018.

Israel Gonzalez
junior bantamweight, 0-4
Gonzalez won 21 of his first 22 fights, all in his native Mexico, before coming to America and getting dropped and stopped by IBF 115-pound titlist Jerwin Ancajas (TKO 10) in 2018. After returning with two wins, he unsuccessfully challenged WBA ruler Kal Yafai (UD 12). Gonzalez scored an excellent road win over Sho Ishida (SD 12) to secure a fight with Roman Gonzalez, who outboxed him to a 12-round unanimous decision. Lastly, he took on rising star Jesse Rodriguez for the WBC title in 2022 and went the distance (UD 12).

Bob Yalen helped compile this article. The Ring appreciates his contribution.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].

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