Least likley middleweight champions, who was the million to one shot?

[janitor]

Of all the middleweight champions who do you think was the least likley to become champion?

Say that you know their abilities and the era they fight in but not the circumstances under which they will get their title shot.

Who would you name as say the least probable three to have won the title

[Shake]

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[la-califa]

Dave Tiberi to come out of knowhere to defeat James Toney. Only to suffer one of the WORST Championship fight decisions in history! a true boxing tragedy...

[McGrain]

Just thinking about Toney-Tiberi makes me sick.

[My2Sense]

Al McCoy, Babe Risko, and Julio Cesar Green.

McCoy was just a clubfighter who got his "shot" at champion George Chip when Chip's brother Joe pulled out of a fight with McCoy, and George subbed. In the 1st round, George ran into a left hand from the southpaw McCoy and was knocked out cold. The fight was supposed to be a no-decision and Chip's title wasn't supposed to be at stake, but because McCoy weighed within the weight limit he claimed the title. He then spent the rest of his career getting his ass kicked by anyone and everyone in no-decision fights (including a rematch with Chip), but because he was durable and hard to knock out, no one could actually take the title from him. Finally Mike O'Dowd pulled the trick and put an end to McCoy's reign of error. :D

Babe Risko was another fighter who was considered a clubfighter until he got a non-title match with champion Teddy Yarosz, who was considered one of the classiest boxers of his day. Risko surprised everyone by dropping Yarosz several times early, causing him to injure his leg, and then muscling his way to a mid-round stoppage win (the only time in his long career Yarosz would ever be stopped). Risko then lost a couple of fights when he tried to take on other contenders, but the win over Yarosz had basically secured him a title shot as soon as Yarosz's leg healed. In the rematch, Risko again put the pressure on and caused Yarosz's injury to resurface, and he was able to beat him on points. After that though, Risko lost a series of non-title bouts to top contenders (including a devastating 1-round KO loss to Britain's Jock McAvoy), and it seemed the only thing left for him to do was choose which one would wrest the title from him. He chose Freddie Steele (over McAvoy - probably to keep the title in the states) and Steele outclassed him easily over 15 rounds. Risko was then used as a stepping stone for up-and-comers like Billy Conn and Al Hostak and also lost a third match to rival Yarosz, after which he quickly declined and lost something like ten fights in a row. He did manage to have a win over fellow has-been Gorilla Jones before retiring.

Green you might remember got a very questionable decision over William Joppy (not exactly a stellar champion himself) to win his title, and Joppy was fighting with an injured hand on top of that. Joppy then beat him decisively in two rematches. Last time I saw Green fight, he was taking a dive against Mikkel Kessler.