No lineal champion since 2004? How do you win the title?

[Pigeons]

Lineal titles are fun

LHW lineage: Hill->Michalczewski->Gonzalez->Erdei->Grachev->Rodriguez->Ward***10;***10;Ward lineal champ @ 168 & 175. And that***39;s why lineage is dumb.

— Ryan Bivins (@RyanBivins) March 31, 2015

As with most boxing concepts, even the lineal title has issues. With that said, retirement is one way to lose the lineal title. Erdei retired in 2010. It only lasted a couple months, but he still did it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/sports/14fighter.html

Same with Mayweather retiring in 2009 and relinquishing the title. He didn't automatically gain it back when he came back in 2010.