How is Tyson Fury the Lineal Champion?

[SN!PER]

It sucks that Vitali vs. Lennox 2 never happened.

Also if Vitali had kept fighting long enough, it's likely Fury would've beat him.

Vitali was tough as a brick but slower than his little bro. Fury's movement would've tied him in knots.

[Willie Pep 229]

I was hoping somebody could clarify because I only see two ways and neither appears valid.

1) Fury becomes lineal after beating Klitschko, retires for three years and returns with his status being upheld regardless of his absence which is bogus or;

2) in Dec 2018 Fury vs Wilder I was considered the establishment of a new lineage with both men being rated #1 and #2? In Dec 2018 Joshua had the WBO, WBA, IBF, belts with wins over Klitschko, Povetkin, Parker, White, Takam which surpasses anything Wilder had done so did the whore RING magazine have Wilder rated at 1 or 2 at that point in time?

I don't know what these other guys have offered you (I'll go back and look after I write) but IMO #1 is the correct answer - if it isn't then we have a problem with several old timers.

Corbett didn't defend between Mitchell and Fitzsimmons for three years and two months - so if we disregarded argument #1 what then do we say about Fitz?

Fitz then went two years and three months between Corbett and Jeffries; Dempsey a full three years between Firpo and Tunney.

I suspect there may be more . . . but to me Fury was champion for the Wilder I fight and has been since he beat Wald. Wilder and AJ are just claimants.

Of course this is probably not fair but prize fighting often isn't fair.

[rocky_balboa23]

You have to beat the man that beat the man to become a lineal champ and start a new lineal.

The last lineal champ was Lennox Lewis and he retired with the lineage. A new lineage would start with an undisputed champ.

Fury isn’t the lineal champ - it’s just a marketing ploy when he came back for relevance. And he has stop claiming it since he beat Wilder and took his WBC belt. Hence I always call Fury a prolific scammer - his whole schtick is a fraud.

Undisputed fight would start a new lineage.

obviously Fury is the man. no heavyweight will beat him.

Joshua can go to hell.

[NorvernRob]

Fury also is the ONLY 2 Time Champ that has never lost a fight....

Is he also the only 2 time champ to not fight anyone in the top 10 apart from those fights? Or the only one to not fight a mandatory? Does he also have the least defences?

[Toffee]

I don't know what these other guys have offered you (I'll go back and look after I write) but IMO #1 is the correct answer - if it isn't then we have a problem with several old timers.

Corbett didn't defend between Mitchell and Fitzsimmons for three years and two months - so if we disregarded argument #1 what then do we say about Fitz?

Fitz then went two years and three months between Corbett and Jeffries; Dempsey a full three years between Firpo and Tunney.

I suspect there may be more . . . but to me Fury was champion for the Wilder I fight and has been since he beat Wald. Wilder and AJ are just claimants.

Of course this is probably not fair but prize fighting often isn't fair.

There are certainly more, Louis and Ali for starters.

There are no hard and fast rules for the lineal title. That's the tough thing about it.

What I will say is that if you can retire, get on the drink and drugs, be inactive for 3 years and then still defend your title against the lines of Seferi and Pianeta then the lineal title ain't worth schitt.

If it's of any value, then Tyson Fury doesn't have it.

[15round]

He was unranked when Joshua lost to him.

You are wrong. He was not unranked before the first fight.

[LaidOut]

Yeah, I don't get caught up with Lineal as it's not legit anymore, if it ever was. So I focus on who's the consensus #1. That's Fury today, with Usyk being #2. For pro-Linealists, you could say that the modern era Lineal will be decided when Fury fights Usyk (assuming he wins the rematch with AJ, which he should).

[BangEM]

obviously Fury is the man. no heavyweight will beat him.

Joshua can go to hell.

[Lance98]

Lineal championships have gone the way of the dodo. Fury should move on.

[M312]

Tyson Fury is not, and has never been the lineal champion - Because Wladimir was never the lineal champion.

When Fury made his comeback, he self proclaimed himself lineal champion to market himself and for some reason it's caught on. Say something enough and it sticks I guess.

But while Wladimir was Number 1, he never at any point held every belt or beat the man to become the man.