Boxing Titles: Close But No Cigar

In this episode, I am going to be focusing on several boxers who had at least 3 title fights, but they were all unsuccessful in capturing Championship Gold. These gentlemen were good enough to get to numerous title bouts but just fell short, which is why the episode is titled “Close But No Cigar.”

Regardless, they should not be forgotten about or discarded. The true fan will always remember them with fondness and great memories, and they all deserve an A+ for effort.

Yaqui Lopez

The first boxer I am going to discuss is light heavyweight contender Yaqui Lopez. Yaqui fought for the light heavyweight championship of the world title 4 times and the Cruiserweight title 1 time. He was defeated by John Conteh WBC Light heavyweight title in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 9, 1976, L15.

He was defeated by Victor Galindez on two occasions for the WBA Light heavyweight title (L15 both times). The first was on September 17, 1977, in Rome, and the second was on May 6, 1978, in Lido De Camaiore (both cities of Italy). Lopez was defeated by Matthew Saad Muhammad Koby in Mcafee, NJ, on July 13, 1980, for the WBC Light heavyweight title.
His 5th and last title shot was for the WBC Cruiserweight title (defeated by Koby (4) in Carlos Deleon.

Lopez completed his career with a total of 76 fights, with 61 wins (39KOS) and 15 losses.

Rubin Castillo

Rubin Castillo fought for the title a total of 4 times at featherweight and Jr. lightweight. His ledger is the best and most impressive of all I will cover today in this segment. He lost to 3 all-time great Hall of Famers. The first was on January 20, 1980, for the WBC Jr. Lightweight title, a loss to Alexis Arguello Koby (11) in Tuscon, Arizona.

3 months later he was defeated by Salvador Sanchez (L15) on April 12, 1980. for the WBC Featherweight title, in the same town of Tuscon, Arizona. Then, he was defeated by Juan Laporte (L12) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the WBC Featherweight title on February 20, 1983.

His final title bout was against Julio Cesar Chavez Koby (6) in Inglewood, California for the WBC Jr. Lightweight title on April 19, 1985. His career ended with a total of 79 fights, for 67 wins (35 KOS), 10 losses, and 2 Draws.

Howard Davis Jr.


Howard Davis Jr. is the most celebrated of the group, who was a 1976 Olympic Champ and seemed destined to win a world title. He suffered 3 title defeats. The first was against Jim Watt Glasgow in Scotland (L15) on June 7 1980, for the WBC Lightweight title. The second was a defeat to Edwin Rosario (L12) for the WBC Lightweight title in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, on June 23, 1984.

The last was a defeat to James Buddy Mcgirt Koby for the Jr. Welterweight title in New York, NY, on July 31, 1988, in his final title fight. Davis Jr. finished his career with a total of 43 fights, for 36 wins (14KOS), 6 losses, and 1 draw.

I am your host Frank Reading and I am a middle-aged former boxing mega-fan from the 1980s-1990s. I have no allegiance or affiliation with any Boxing Organization Alliance or Federation.

I have a background in research and public speaking as well as boxing training and coaching. I hope you will enjoy the factual information provided on this program. My goal is to educated and inform the listener on the History of “The Sweet Science”

Please Note – As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Join the newsletter

Learn more about the Sports History Network

    We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Resources

    More Boxing History

    4 thoughts on “Boxing Titles: Close But No Cigar”

    Leave a Comment

    Digital $50 gift card to Homefield Apparel