Packey McFarland went on an incredible run that spanned 11 years, however, was never given the chance to become world champion.
Even some of the greatest heavyweights of all time, like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and Lennox Lewis did not get through their career without losses.
However, in 75 professional fights, no one was able to get the better of McFarland.
In the boxing world, it is not uncommon to see a fighter get a world title opportunity after 20 fights. However, this was not the case for McFarland.
Packey McFarland was never given a world title opportunity despite 70-0 record
McFarland was from Chicago, and his fighting career spanned 11 years. Competing between the years of 1904 and 1915, he held a record of 70-0-5.
Just like Ali had an unlikely start to his boxing career, so did McFarland. He began his boxing career after getting involved in street fights in Chicago stockyards and handball courts in the city.
The American would make his debut in January of 1905 and would go on a winning streak of 39 fights, before drawing his first bout in 1908.
During the period in which McFarland competed, many fights took place without judges scoring. This meant that ‘newspaper decisions’ were often used to declare the winner unofficially.
Including the ‘newspaper decisions’ would leave McFarland with a record of 106-1-6. His unofficial loss came in his ninth professional bout when the Colorado Springs Gazette awarded his opponent the victory.
However, despite his impressive career, a title opportunity would never come the way of McFarland. The American once targeted a fight with then-lightweight champion Battling Nelson, but his potential opponent did not have an interest in fighting McFarland.
Title opportunities would also face complications due to McFarland’s weight. As he struggled to make lightweight at times, he would often fluctuate between divisions.
Being able to dispatch top contenders in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions, McFarland proved he was of world champion standard, but was never given the opportunity to be crowned.
Packey McFarland was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame
Although the accolade of being a world champion eluded him, McFarland would be acknowledged in his post-career as the elite boxer he was.
Passing away in 1936, the United Press described McFarland as the ‘uncrowned lightweight champion,’ for his contribution to the sport.
He was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his incredible career, as McFarland retired in 1915.