Why Do We Continue to Recognize the Lineal Championship When....

[SilverMiles]

Honestly..and i mean honestly..no one said lineal didnt matter until GGG was not lineal.....before then ya'll are bragged on the Lineal title....and thats a fact

Honestly that isn't true. Many people started saying lineal didn't mean much after Kova beat Hopkins and Stevensons ran to Uncle Al.

[1hourRun]

We should just have a vote like the Ringmagazine like when they stripped Adonis Stevenson and Rigo bwahahahahah! and you know whats even more hilarious Oscars very own historical publication will be forced to strip Saul Alvarez if he does not defend his Ring/lineal title according to recent *********s made to their rules but as long as he fights someone in the top 5 he might keep it for another couple of years.....looking forward to the spin on that one from Delahoya and Co.

Our policy is this: Champions must fight a Top 5 contender in any division within 18 months to retain their belts.

[soul_survivor]

We have to be objective about this. The lineal title has often been awarded to guys that have often been labeled the best fighters in their respective divisions. Will anyone deny that for the better part of a decade, fighters like Hopkins and Wlad were the best guys in their division?

Would anyone deny that Fury is currently the best heavyweight, until proven otherwise?

Would anyone deny that the recent fight between Bradley and Pacquiao was between the two best at 147?

Would anyone deny that Martinez as lineal champ, was the man?

However, their are exceptions, for example: Stevenson when he beat dawson was rightfully the best at 175 but with Kovalev beating Pascal and Hopkins, that landscape has changed.

[Real King Kong]

1. There are no official rankings.
2. There is no rule that says you have to defend your "title" against the #1 contender.
3. There is no rule that says you have to defend your "title" against ANYONE in your division.
4. There is no rule that says you even have to fight anyone, period
5. No fighter, trainer, promoter or network cares about this "title"


Look at the situation at 160. The "lineal" champion has never fought a MW contender. A fight between the #1 vs. #2 fighter in the MW division has not taken place since Sergio Martinez defeated Kelly Pavlik in 2010.

Look at the situation at 175. The "lineal" champion hasn't even fought a guy in the top 5 since he became champion.

Roy Jones was the undisputed champion but never the "lineal" champion.

I know it has meaning from a historical perspective. But the system does not work anymore. Too much politics, not enough fights between 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's and 5's. It's time to let this go

It's basically pointless nowadays. When the title split with the addition of sanctioning bodies, the "lineal title" became watered down. It all depended on whether or not the sanctioning body that the lineal champion became a title holder in, had top fighters in it's rankings and enforced the rules.

[Real King Kong]

The lineage has historical significance. Fewer undeserving fighters hold the lineage than any other world title in the sport. But that doesn't mean no undeserving fighters do.

Some fighters cheapen the lineage. That multiple lineages are being cheapened right now is a reflection of how things are in the sport. We should acknowledge that, not ignore it.

That's not true at all. When the title split into 2 and then 3 main sanctioning bodies, it was literally a crapshoot whether the guy who was considered the lineal champ held a title in a sanctioning body that had a good ranking system and adhered to the rules. Your statement was more true of the ring champ than the lineal. A new lineage can be started at any point by simply going back to 1 champ per division.

[Larry the boss]

PBP, Larry is calling you a GGG fan. React please.

I aint calling him nothing, he is cool with me

[Dr Rumack]

That's not true at all. When the title split into 2 and then 3 main sanctioning bodies, it was literally a crapshoot whether the guy who was considered the lineal champ held a title in a sanctioning body that had a good ranking system and adhered to the rules. Your statement was more true of the ring champ than the lineal. A new lineage can be started at any point by simply going back to 1 champ per division.

It's 100% true. I'll list the lineal champs and you can stack the WBA/WBC champs next to them. Let's see which list has the more weak champs on it.

[-PBP-]

PBP, Larry is calling you a GGG fan. React please.

It's just opinions Maxi.It's a discussion that comes up a lot. How do you feel about the lineal title?

[Larry the boss]

The lineage has historical significance. Fewer undeserving fighters hold the lineage than any other world title in the sport. But that doesn't mean no undeserving fighters do.

Some fighters cheapen the lineage. That multiple lineages are being cheapened right now is a reflection of how things are in the sport. We should acknowledge that, not ignore it.

^^^^^truth.............

[_Maxi]

It's just opinions Maxi.It's a discussion that comes up a lot. How do you feel about the lineal title?

I think that the lineal title loses sense when there's another undisputed/unified champion and the lineal is not willing to fight him. Which happened in Cotto/Canelo situation regarding GGG. GGG is the real MW champion. 99% of the fans knows it. That's my opinion.

All good PBP.