Who was the most recent "LINEAL" Heavyweight Champion of the World?

henry clinhko was never lineal champ until maybe the povetkin fight. #1 vs #3 gtfo with that sh-it! does the superbowl champ play the third best team? does that happen in any sport? no. in my opinion povetkin was a huge bum who lost to huck oh yeah and henry clinchko should have been dq'd in that fight. the lineal champ should be seth mitchell for his contribution to glass chins.

But, as someone said before, lineal is supposed to be about beating the man. Wlad didn't beat the man. He beat some men but not THE MAN. He beat a long list of ranked challengers and alphabet belt holders, but never anyone with a legitamte claim to be the best in the world. Wlad is clearly the best heavyweight of his generation, but does that automatically mean be is lineal champ? If one is of the opinion that somebody has to be the lineal champ at all times, then it's definitely Wlad. Otherwise, I think it's very reasonable to say that the lineal championship is vacant. The Ring Title is often cited as the lineal championship. Whether that's of any value is open to speculation. As time goes on and more and more sanctioning bodies rise to power, the title of "lineal champion" will become obsolete, I'm afraid. For the record, Gene Tunney was the first man to retire while holding the HW crown under Marquis of Queensbury rules. Technically, everyone after him could be considered a paper champion.

Wlad, since Lewis retired wlad had beaten all the other champs- Byrd, sultan, haye, chagev, povetkin is there a difference between Lineal and linear?? i think you might be referring to linear.

Wlad, since Lewis retired wlad had beaten all the other champs- Byrd, sultan, haye, chagev, povetkin But, as someone said before, lineal is supposed to be about beating the man. Wlad didn't beat the man. He beat some men but not THE MAN. He beat a long list of ranked challengers and alphabet belt holders, but never anyone with a legitamte claim to be the best in the world. Wlad is clearly the best heavyweight of his generation, but does that automatically mean be is lineal champ?

Wlad, since Lewis retired wlad had beaten all the other champs- Byrd, sultan, haye, chagev, povetkin

If beating Povetkin makes Wlad lineal champion than I don't think lineal champion really means much any more.

Depends on your definition of lineal. Once it meant the man that beat the man and in order for a new one to be crowned when the line was broken, a champion had to be undisputed. In todays time an undisputed champion is pretty hard to find and fans want a lineage. But I personally follow the oldschool traditional definition.

no.1 vs no.3 isn't accepted by many views of lineage however, sounds too much like RING policy... If the top two fighters won't fight, then there should be no lineage until one can be established. It is not the fault of the system, more so than brothers not willing to fight (though I agree with them for not doing so). The sacrifice is not being able to establish who is the best between them. The RING of course disagree with this, but have lost a lot of lustre and credibility over the years. I share TBRB's view of lineage, and put the beginning of HW lineage at the Povetkin-Wlad fight Though of course, your opinion of it is respected You are correct that Ring Magazine rolled with it first, but it is also the accepted format here on boxingscene if you check Cliff Rold's rankings. http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/view.php?pg=boxing-ratings

Wlad restored lineage when he beat Chagaev. When a champion retires or vacates, its normally accepted that lineage is restored when the no.1 and no.2 fights. When one of those is not an available option no.2 can be substituted by the no.3 which was the case in this particular instance. No.1 Wlad could not fight his brother Vitali, who was no.2. Chagaev was no.3 and when he squared off against Wlad, lineage was restored. no.1 vs no.3 isn't accepted by many views of lineage however, sounds too much like RING policy... If the top two fighters won't fight, then there should be no lineage until one can be established. It is not the fault of the system, more so than brothers not willing to fight (though I agree with them for not doing so). The sacrifice is not being able to establish who is the best between them. The RING of course disagree with this, but have lost a lot of lustre and credibility over the years. I share TBRB's view of lineage, and put the beginning of HW lineage at the Povetkin-Wlad fight Though of course, your opinion of it is respected

Wlad restored lineage when he beat Chagaev. When a champion retires or vacates, its normally accepted that lineage is restored when the no.1 and no.2 fights. When one of those is not an available option no.2 can be substituted by the no.3 which was the case in this particular instance. No.1 Wlad could not fight his brother Vitali, who was no.2. Chagaev was no.3 and when he squared off against Wlad, lineage was restored.

Wlad is the current lineal Champ, so i'd say he was the most recent probably

Wladimir Klitschko When he beat Povetkin No1 of the division vs no2. Vitali had retired at this point