García made history with his 4th belt.

[Pigeons]

Well clearly it's not the accepted practice in boxing, because if lineal was preferred, then fighters, promoters, networks and managers would be constantly trying to fill the vacancies, instead of completely ignoring them and continuing to focus on the real world titles.

It is an accepted practice, that's why every media outlet refers to Pacquiao as an 8 division champ.

Crawford lists lineal in his Twitter profile. https://mobile.twitter.com/budcrawford402?lang=en

[McNulty]

This guy made history.

Only Márquez and Pacquiao won titles in 126, 130, 135 and 140 pounds.

Only Márquez and Morales won 4 belts in the history of mexican boxing, now García is with them in the podium.

And Marquez, Pacquiao, and Morales would knock Garcia the fùck out. Go back and look at how Grandpa did against the elite and thats what lil' bro will end up like.



The kid can't hold their jockstrap. I don't give a shít about how many gay áss trinkets you pick up. Give us a fight against a guy thats not 13-0 with lady sized fists.

[techliam]

Yes they are. The lineal title doesn't exist. It's a mythical title. There are four recognized world titles in boxing. Pacquiao has held one in six divisions, not eight.

You can take the philosophical position that the belts don't make you the champion and that only beating the man who beat the man makes you champion, and that's fine. But it's apples and oranges. To count both, to get you to eight, is a complete fraud.

Whatever merit a world title or a lineal title has, it's two separate things. The official recognized championships of boxing and a statistical curiosity tracked by purists can't then be combined to buy Pacquiao two extra divisions. He didn't win a recognized world championship in those divisions. The entire thing is a sham.

I've highlighted the most important concept, recognition. Both form of championship are recognised by many. It's easier to market a physical belt, sure, but lineal champions have also been marketed without a belt in certain cases (Martinez and Spinks for example). I'm not saying they are equal, but both have their solid arguments for recognition.

Me personally, I'm not a fan of the championship system in any guise. I think being the World No.1 of a particular world class is far too under appreciated.

[N/A]

I've highlighted the most important concept, recognition. Both form of championship are recognised by many. It's easier to market a physical belt, sure, but lineal champions have also been marketed without a belt in certain cases (Martinez and Spinks for example). I'm not saying they are equal, but both have their solid arguments for recognition.

When it's convenient and advantageous, promoters will shine a light on the lineal title.

And if I was Arum, I would be doing the same thing, trying to trick people into thinking Pacquiao is an eight division world champion, but the facts don't support the premise.

HBO billed Pacquiao-Hatton as a non-title bout. The promoter billed it for the IBO and Ring magazine light welterweight titles. The IBO & Ring magazine belts are not recognized world championships.

I have all the respect in the world for those who say **** the belts, we're tracking lineage. But where is the logic in doing that, and then still counting David Diaz as the champion of the world? You can't have it both ways. Are we counting the belts or ignoring the belts? To count both, to get to 8, is ridiculous. If David Diaz was a world champion when Pacquiao fought him, then Ricky Hatton wasn't. If Ricky Hatton was a world champion when Pacquiao fought him, then David Diaz wasn't. It's two conflicting philosophies being combined to fool the public.

[N/A]

It is an accepted practice, that's why every media outlet refers to Pacquiao as an 8 division champ.

Lineal being the preferred method is NOT an accepted practice. The sport focuses on the four recognized world titles. Lineal is usually an after thought, unless the promoter doesn't control one of the four recognized world titles, then they'll conveniently pretend lineal is superior. Promoters want to have it both ways whenever it best suits them. If they really considered lineal the preferred method, they wouldn't be so obsessed with the belts.

The media refers to Pacquiao as an 8 division champion because they are ****** and lazy. Paid peanuts to copy and paste press releases.

[Pigeons]

Lineal being the preferred method is NOT an accepted practice. The sport focuses on the four recognized world titles. Lineal is usually an after thought, unless the promoter doesn't control one of the four recognized world titles, then they'll conveniently pretend lineal is superior. Promoters want to have it both ways whenever it best suits them. If they really considered lineal the preferred method, they wouldn't be so obsessed with the belts.

The media refers to Pacquiao as an 8 division champion because they are ****** and lazy. Paid peanuts to copy and paste press releases.

To be a lineal champion, you have to beat a lineal champion or win a 1 vs. 2 matchup. The fighters you have to beat to win a lineal time are greater than the fighters you have to beat to win an alphabet title 9 times out of 10. That's where the significance lies and why the lineal title holds such prestige.

[Barristan]

Never fought a real good fighter - that's the problem. The guy he beat this weekend was a trashcan kickboxer.

[N/A]

To be a lineal champion, you have to beat a lineal champion or win a 1 vs. 2 matchup.

But people don't always agree on who the lineal champion is and people don't always agree who #1 and #2 are. Further, many mistakenly believe the Ring belt is still the lineal title, unaware that #2 can fight #5 to win the Ring belt, that a lineal champion can be stripped of the Ring belt for not facing the Ring's selectively enforced mandatories, etc.

If the sport embraced the lineal title and could agree upon who was #1 and #2, it would be lovely, but it's a pipe dream obsessed over by a few nerds and has rarely worked in practice.

The fighters you have to beat to win a lineal time are greater than the fighters you have to beat to win an alphabet title 9 times out of 10. That's where the significance lies and why the lineal title holds such prestige.

Why the lineal title holds such prestige among a few nerds. 99% of the sport focuses on the four recognized world championships. The lineal title is usually irrelevant or nonexistent since at any given time, it's usually vacant in over a dozen of the 17 divisions.

But this is not a discussion of the merits of the lineal title. I understand the merit. I respect the viewpoint of saying **** the belts, only the lineal title matters.

However, that doesn't mean you can add ABC belts + lineal to get to 8 divisions. If you're recognizing the belts, then Pacquiao is a six division champion. If you're ignoring the belts, he's a five division champion. You can't combine them to get to 8. Because the philosophy that justifies recognizing the Hatton win as a world title win disqualifies the David Diaz win as a world title win. You can't have it both ways.

[Larry the boss]

He is from California tho

[Mexican_Puppet]

He is from California tho

He is mexican and California is the second place on earth with more mexicans