![Muhammad Ali NYWTS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Muhammad_Ali_NYWTS.jpg)
In
combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppon ...
s where champions are decided by a
challenge, the lineal championship of a
weight class
Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...
is a world championship title held initially by an
undisputed champion Undisputed championship may refer to:
*Undisputed championship (boxing)
*Undisputed championship (professional wrestling)
An undisputed championship is a professional wrestling term for a champion who has obtained all of the major individual cha ...
and subsequently by a fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match at that weight class. In
professional boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...
, the lineal champion is informally called "the man who beat the man".
A break in the direct continuity of a lineal championship can occur when a reigning champion retires or moves to another weight class. Opinions conflict as to what to do when such a breach of continuity occurs. Some require that top "contenders for the title" must fight to become the next lineal champion, while others require a new undisputed champion before the lineage can continue. However, there is no single canonical list of lineal champions at any weight class, because there is no agreed-upon method of determining the starting point for each lineage. There is agreement to discount the sanctioning bodies (such as the
WBA,
WBC or
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
) stripping a title.
History
Boxing
![Johnson Jeffries pre-fight introduction](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Johnson_Jeffries_pre-fight_introduction.jpg)
The concept of a lineal champion was developed by boxing fans dissatisfied by the tendency of each of the various sanctioning bodies (
WBC,
WBA,
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
, etc.) to recognize different champions, and in particular to strip a champion of his title for refusing to fight its top-ranked contender. Prior to the 1970s, this rarely happened; the
National Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
(NBA) and the
New York State Athletic Commission
The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...
(NYSAC) sometimes recognized different champions, but there was usually only a short interval before one champion defeated the other. In that era, a title vacancy was generally filled by having a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
box-off between two or more top-ranked contenders. The lineal championship is intended as a return to that era. Several top boxers have specified holding the lineal championship as a personal accomplishment (e.g.
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
) or goal (e.g.,
Nate Campbell
Nathaniel "Nate" Campbell III (born March 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014, and currently works as a TV host. In boxing he held the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight titles from 200 ...
). Many boxing experts view the lineal championship as a prestigious status which trumps the world titles being issued by the sanctioning bodies (e.g.
Steve Farhood
Steven "Steve" Farhood (born 15 February 1957) is an American boxing historian and analyst.
His life
Farhood was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Lebanese parents. Farhood served as editor-in-chief of '' The Ring'' and ''KO Magazine''. He also ser ...
).
Mixed martial arts
In
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
(MMA), the lineal championship is of particular relevance because until the mid-2000s, the top-ranked fighters were spread out among a number of mixed martial arts promotions across the globe. This included Japanese promotions such as
Pride Fighting Championships
PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...
,
Pancrase
Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki.
The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...
, and
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
, as well as US-based promotions such as the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
(UFC),
World Extreme Cage Fighting
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...
(WEC), and
Strikeforce
Strike Force may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game
*'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game
*'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game
*''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
. The UFC eventually purchased most of the major promotions and, as a result, all of the lineal champions are currently signed with the promotion. Former UFC champion
Jon Jones
Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...
was suspended and stripped of the title for reasons resulting from an alleged hit-and-run felony charge.
Daniel Cormier
Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and current commentator for the UFC. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Ch ...
, whom Jones had just defeated, subsequently won the vacant UFC title.
Issues
An issue in the implementation of a lineal championship is what to do if the lineal champion retires, dies, or moves to a different weight class. Different ways of resolving this vacancy mean the lineal championship may be subject to dispute. Since the modern lineal championship is a notional title tracked by fans, there is no money or organization to arrange a box-off to fill a vacant title, and there may not be consensus on who the top contenders are – this is true both for boxing and MMA.
One example given by Cliff Rold, writing for Cyber Boxing Zone, is the light heavyweight title, considered vacant from the time
Michael Spinks
Michael Spinks (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed light heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985, and the lineal ...
moved up to heavyweight in 1985 until 1996. While Rold considers
Virgil Hill
Virgil Eugene Hill (born January 18, 1964) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2007, and in 2015. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA light heavyweight title twice, from 1987 to 1997; the IBF a ...
's defeat of
Henry Maske
Henry Maske (, ; born 6 January 1964) is a German former professional boxer and one of Germany's most popular sports figures. He held the IBF light heavyweight title from 1993 until 1996.
Amateur career
Maske was born in Treu ...
as the beginning of the next line of succession, others trace the title through
Roy Jones Jr.
Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
Another criticism of the lineal championship is that a fighter may defend it against inferior opponents. For example,
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...
was considered lineal champion from 1994 until 1997, when
Shannon Briggs
Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion, having held the lineal heavyweight championship from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO title from 2006 to 2007. Briggs is known for ...
beat him. After the WBA and IBF stripped him of their titles in 1995, Foreman fought only two, low-ranked opponents before Briggs. The lineal champion is not necessarily the boxer viewed as the best.
Cyber Boxing Zone and BoxingScene considered
Zsolt Erdei
Zsolt Erdei (born 31 May 1974) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO and lineal light-heavyweight titles from 2004 to 2009 (making eleven c ...
the lineal light-heavyweight champion from his 2004 defeat of
Julio César González
Julio César González Ibarra (July 30, 1976 – March 10, 2012) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2011, and held the WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles from 2003 to 2004.
Amateur career
Gonzalez was a member o ...
until 2009, when he vacated his title and moved up to cruiserweight; as he had not fought the highest-ranked opponents in the interim, Cliff Rold conceded, "while the concept of a champion needing to lose a title in the ring is solid, the practice is sometimes highly flawed".
In mixed martial arts, most controversy centers on the proper method for determining the first lineal MMA champion within each weight class. Early fights did not follow the currently agreed upon weight classes determined by the
Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts
Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very dif ...
, a rule set that was not finalized until the year 2000. For example: Some consider Mark Coleman's victory in 1997, when he became the first UFC Heavyweight champion, to be the beginning of the Heavyweight lineage. Others argue that
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures i ...
's victory at UFC 1 in 1993 is the true heavyweight starting point due to the Open-weight nature of the tournament. In this case, however, the lineal titles converge and unify with the current UFC Heavyweight title, so the champion remains the same regardless of which lineage one chooses to follow.
Versions
''The Ring''
The boxing magazine ''
The Ring'' has its own lineal championship. The original sequence was from its first publication in the 1920s until its hiatus in 1989, continuing as late as 1992 in some divisions. When it started awarding titles again in 2001, it did not calculate retrospective lineages to fill in the gap years, instead nominating a new champion. CBZ commented in 2004, "The Ring has forfeited its credibility by pulling names out of its ass to name fighters as champions".
In 2007, ''The Ring'' was acquired by the owners of fight promoter
Golden Boy Promotions
Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is an American boxing promotional firm based in Los Angeles, California. The company was established in 2002 by eight-time world champion (in six divisions) Oscar De La Hoya, borrowing his nickname "Golden Boy."
Histo ...
, which has publicized ''The Rings world championship when this is at stake in fights it promotes (such as
Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones, Jr. in 2008). Since 2012, to reduce the number of vacant titles, ''The Ring'' allows fights between a #1 or #2 contender and a #3, #4, or #5 contender to fill a vacant title. This has prompted further doubts about its credibility. ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' used ''The Ring'' lineages for galleries of lineal heavyweight and middleweight champions.
Cyber Boxing Zone
The ''Cyber Boxing Zone'' (CBZ) website maintains lists of lineal champions, with input from boxing historian
Tracy Callis
Tracy Callis is a prominent American boxing historian, writer and journalist. He is the director of the historical research boxing website ''Cyber Boxing Zone'' (CBZ) and International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO). He is also an elector ...
of the International Boxing Research Organization.
These were first published in 1994, and are retrospective to the introduction of
Marquess of Queensberry Rules in 1885.
The historical lists have sometimes been updated when new information about old fights comes to light. If its lineal champion at one weight class moves to another class, CBZ does not automatically vacate his title.
BoxingScene
BoxingScene.com disagrees with the lineages given by ''The Ring'' and by CBZ, especially in lower weight divisions with a higher rate of champions changing division.
BoxingScene has traced its own most recent lineages, generally back to the 1990s.
Transnational Boxing Rankings Board
The
Transnational Boxing Rankings Board
The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) is an all-volunteer initiative formed in October 2012 with the intention of providing professional boxing with authoritative top-ten rankings, identifying the singular world champion of every divisio ...
(TBRB) was formed in October 2012 as a volunteer initiative to provide boxing with authoritative top-ten rankings, identify the singular world champion of every division by strict reasoning and common sense, and to insist on the sport's reform. Board membership includes fifty respected boxing journalists and record keepers from around the world who are uncompromised by sanctioning bodies and promoters. The board was formed to continue where ''The Ring'' "left off" in the aftermath of its purchase by Golden Boy Promotions in 2007 and the following dismissal of the editorial board headed by
Nigel Collins.
After the new editors of ''The Ring'' announced a controversial new championship policy in May 2012, three prominent members of the Ring Advisory Panel resigned. These three members (
Springs Toledo
Springs Toledo is a writer and author. His work has been featured in Ploughshares, Salon, City Journal, ''Boxing'' ''News'', and THE RING magazine, The Sweet Science, Plough, and Mizan. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of Amer ...
, Cliff Rold and Tim Starks) became the founding members of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board,
which was formed over the summer of 2012 with the assistance of Stewart Howe of England. The board only awards vacant championships when the two top-ranked fighters in any division meet, and currently recognizes legitimate world champions or "true champions" each weight classes.
Lineal Boxing Champion
Since April 6, 2019, LinealBoxingChampion.com (LBC) has been producing monthly, non-computerized divisional rankings for women's professional boxing. Prior to this, no such impartial, independent rankings existed. The rankings are compiled by an international team of ten boxing experts, which includes site editor and member of the International Boxing Research Organization, Adam McMeeking (from the UK), International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame 2019 inductee, David Avila (from the US), Max Boxing journalist and former Boxing Monthly contributor, Anthony Cocks (from Australia) and Ring Magazine contributor, Yuriko Miyata (from Japan). In keeping with the tradition, the lineal champion status is awarded to the winner of a fight between the number one and number two ranked contenders. Currently LBC recognizes seven lineal champions in women's boxing: Franchon Crews Dezurn (super middleweight), Claressa Shields (middleweight and junior middleweight), Jessica McCaskill (welterweight), Chantelle Cameron (junior welterweight), Katie Taylor (lightweight), and Marlen Esparza (flyweight). Due to its limited number of competitors LBC does not recognize the light heavyweight division. LBC also recognizes lineal champions in men's boxing, however those championships are not generally recognized.
Current lineal boxing champions (men)
These are the current lineal boxing champions recognized by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the ''Cyber Boxing Zone.
Current lineal boxing champions (women)
These are the current lineal champions recognized by Lineal Boxing Champion.
Records
*
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
is the only three-time lineal heavyweight boxing champion. He beat
Sonny Liston
Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson i ...
in 1964,
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...
in 1974, and
Leon Spinks
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
in 1978.
*
Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
is the first and only fighter in the history of boxing who is credited with lineal championships in five different weight classes (flyweight, featherweight, super featherweight, light welterweight and welterweight) by Cyber Boxing Zone,
TBRB and BoxingScene.com. This has been reported by
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
,
CNN Sports Illustrated
CNN/Sports Illustrated (CNN/SI) was a 24-hour sports news network. It was created by Time Warner, merging together its CNN and ''Sports Illustrated'' brands and related resources. It was launched on December 12, 1996.
Other news networks like E ...
, ''The Ring'',
''
Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...
'' and many boxing websites. He is also the third fighter in boxing history to win lineal world titles in three of the original eight weight divisions of boxing also known as the "glamour divisions" (flyweight, featherweight, and welterweight), joining the exclusive group of
Bob Fitzsimmons
Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan) ...
and
Henry Armstrong
Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong.
Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisio ...
. Additionally, Pacquiao has held three ''Ring'' titles in three different weight classes (featherweight, super featherweight, and light welterweight).
*
Peter Aerts
Peter Aerts (born 25 October 1970) is a Dutch semi-retired kickboxer. Known for his devastating high kicks, which earned him the nickname "The Dutch Lumberjack", he is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time ...
is the only five-time lineal heavyweight kickboxing champion. He beat
Patrick Smith in 1994,
Andy Hug
Andreas "Andy" Hug (7 September 1964 – 24 August 2000) was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability t ...
in 1997,
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Frits Hoost (born 11 July 1965) is a Dutch retired kickboxer. A four-time K-1 World Champion, Hoost is considered to be one of the greatest kickboxers of all time. Debuting in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just on ...
in 1998,
Andy Hug
Andreas "Andy" Hug (7 September 1964 – 24 August 2000) was a Swiss karateka and kickboxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time, Hug was renowned for his ability t ...
in 1998, and
Semmy Schilt
Sem "Semmy" Schilt (; born 27 October 1973) is a Dutch former kickboxer, Ashihara karateka and mixed martial artist. He stands 212 cm and weighs 171 kg. He is a four-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion and one-time Glory Heavyweight Grand Slam ...
in 2010.
*
Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...
, heavyweight mixed martial artist, held the lineal title for longer than any fighter in history. Fedor won the title from
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (, born 2 June 1976), better known as Minotauro or Big Nog, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Inter ...
in 2003 and defended it 18 times before eventually losing it to
Fabricio Werdum Fabricio () is a Spanish male given name. Fabrício () is the Portuguese equivalent.
Among those with the first name are:
*Fabricio Coloccini, Argentine footballer
* Fabrício Guerreiro (born 1990), Brazilian mixed martial artist
*Fabricio Oberto, ...
in 2010.
*Claressa Shields and Jessica McCaskill are the only women to be recognized as two-weight lineal champions.
See also
*
List of current world boxing champions
This is a list of current world boxing champions. Since at least John L. Sullivan, in the late 19th century, there have been world champions in professional boxing. The first of the current organizations to award a world title was the World Box ...
References
External links
The Lineal Boxing World Championsat The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia
Transnational Boxing Rankings Board
{{Boxing
Boxing rules and regulations
Boxing champions