Best heavy who never made champ

I am trying to think of the best heavyweights who never made champ. Here are a few off the top of my head:
Jerry Quarry (he beat Shavers, Lyle, and Patterson), Harry Wills (we don't know if he was overrated or not since he never got his chance at Dempsey or Tunney), Sam Langford (Dempsey called him the greatest fighter he ever saw and said even in his prime he is not sure he could have beaten him).
Any others? There must be alot more.

Quarry came along in a very tough era.

How about Ray Mercer?? I would give him my vote as best to never be a champion.

Williams was a good fighter and a very good puncher. Not an all time great by any means. He fought Liston twice in his prime and was kayoed. He was way past his prime against Ali and had nothing left. Floyd Patterson, the champ at the time did indeed duck him and in my opinion,the 6'3", 212lb Williams would have beaten Patteson. He had a very good left jab and left hook and fought stand-up style. I think Quarry was a better fighter. Williams was killed by a hit and run driver in Houston a few years back -- he was in his sixties.

Jeffries fought a guy named Sharkey (not champ Jack Sharkey) who was also very tough -- similar to Quarry.

Here's my personal list.

1.Sam Langford ( 1902-1926) 167-38-37, 117 KO (48 no decisions, 3 no contest) Considered by many to be one of the top ten greatest fighters of all time and one of the greatest punchers of all time as well...was wrongly denied title shots at Heavyweight, Light-Heavyweight, and Middleweight.

2.Peter Jackson (1882-1899) 45-4-5, 30 KO (31 no decisions). Avoided by John L. Sullivan... fought a 61 round draw vs. Jim Corbett the year before Corbett won the title from Sullivan...suffered a KO in 3 vs. a young Jeffries when well past prime.

3.Joe Jeannette (1904-1919) 79-9-6, 66 KO (62 no decision, 1 no contest) Another great fighter who never received a title shot...won a TKO 50 over Sam McVey...went 3-6-2 vs. Langford...Like many old timers likely had many undocumented contests and Jeannette himself once speculated that he may have had as many as 400 fights.

4.Harry Wills (1910-1932) 65-8-2, 47 KO. (25 no decisions, 3 no contests) Unable to get a title shot vs. Dempsey due to the color line largely in place as a result of Jack Johnson's title reign...actually won more fights than Langford in their meetings although to be fair Langford was much older and going blind.

5.Sam McVey (1902-1921) 63-12-7, 48 KO (13 no decisions, 2 no contests). Over the course of his career he fought Langford 15 times, Jeannette 5 times, and Wills five times...built like Mike Tyson at 5'10" 200-215lbs. and also like Tyson was considered to be a powerful hitter.

6.Sailor Tom Sharkey (1893-1904) 40-6-5, 37 KO (1 no decision, 2 no contest). An aggressive relentless fighter...lost grueling 20 and 25 round bouts vs. Jeffries...extra powerful lights installed for the filming of the second Jeffries fight were so intense that both men received burns and the referee had to wear a hat.

7.Jerry Quarry (1965-1992) 53-9-4, 32 KO. Had the misfortune of fighting in an era dominated by fighters like Ali, Foreman, Frazier, and Norton...had underrated boxing and counter punching skills as well as a solid punch...had too much heart for his own good... Gil Clancy once said "In the gym Quarry was one of the most talented guys that I ever handled."

8.Cleveland Williams (1951-1972) 78-13-1, 58 KO. Dangerous puncher who was one of the few who were brave enough to slug it out with a prime Liston getting stopped both times...couldn't get near a title shot as long as Patterson held the crown...sadly is mostly remembered today for his loss vs. a prime Ali when he was pretty well shot.

9.Frank "Paddy" Slavin (1882-1907) 42-10-8, 35 KO. An aggressive Dempsey like boxer puncher who could hit with either hand...contemporary of Sullivan and Peter Jackson...was unbeaten when he met Jackson in 1892 losing by KO in 10...was never the same after the loss and his career went downhill from 1893 onward.

10.Luther McCarty (1911-1913) 15-1-1, 15 KO (7 no decisions) The best of the white hopes of the Jack Johnson era...was in line for a title shot at the time of his tragic death at only 21...collapsed from a light blow 2:00 minutes into the first round vs. lightly regarded Arthur Pelkey and subsequently died...death was ruled due to a hemorrhage of the brain likely caused by a previous injury.

Honorable mention:

Earnie Shavers (1965-1995) 74-14-1, 68 KO

Ron Lyle (1971-1995) 43-7-1, 31 KO

Ike Ibeabuchi (1994-1999) 20-0, 15 KO

Billy Miske (1913-1923) 44-2-3, 33 KO (53 no decisions)

Bill Brennan (1913-1923) 51-9-3, 48 KO (39 no decisions)

Eddie Machen (195-1967) 50-11-3, 29 KO

My old coach (RIP) worked as a sparring partner for both Quarry and Shavers. He thought Quarry was overall better. Not sure it's exactly on topic but thought I'd toss it in.

Quarry kayoed Shavers in one round at the Garden. George Foreman admitted he ducked Quarry when he was champ. After Quarry beat Lyle and Shavers he should have gotten a title shot against Foreman, but instead George fought Joe Roman.

Golddust -- I think Ron Lyle belongs on the honorable mention list too. He got his start real late in life due to jail time. Had he started at 21 instead of 31 he may well have become champ.

You're right he should be on there. Lyle was a pretty good fighter especially when you consider how late of a start that he got. It makes you wonder how good he could have been if he had gotten started a good decade earlier.

Ike Ibeabuchi (1994-1999) 20-0, 15 KO

I also think Tua in his short prime was very dangerous.

A lot of people in the early 70's would have been champs in anyother era. Bob Foster, Jimmy Young, Jerry Quarry, Kenny Norton, Ronnie Lyle, Earnie Shavers, Jimmy Ellis. What a stacked division.

Funny how Sharkey could go 45 rounds over two fights vs. Jeffries but was pretty much handled by the much smaller Fitzsimmons. For what ever reason Fitzsimmons really seemed to have Sharkey's number.