"The only title that I care about is the lineal championship of the world. It is naturally held in high regard, viewed by many as the most prestigious title a boxer can win given that it comes with no required title defenses against mandatory challengers and cannot be relinquished by order of a sanctioning body. He has grown as a fighter every year, learning from victories and his losses. Hayato Sakurai at Pride Bushido 2 on Feb 15, 2004, 1. def. Middleweight (160 lbs.) The lineal championship is a world title held first by the undisputed champion of a certain weight class, and subsequently by any fighter in that weight class who beats him or her, and so on and so on. But in 2015, the 25-year-old Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), who signed an exclusive contract with HBO in late 2014, really came into his own both in terms of his ability as a fighter and as the face of boxing in the post Mayweather-Pacquiao era. Golden Boy Enterprises is the holding company of boxing great Oscar De La Hoya, so the change in ownership was not well received by many in the boxing community. Carlos Newton at Pride 25 on Mar 16, 2003, 1. def. The title of lineal champion always arises from a consensus of fans, media and historians. Golovkin destroyed Geale last year in just three rounds. And you guessed it, the contracted weight for the Geale fight is 157 pounds. Oxnard, Calif., resident and Argentine expat Sergio Martinez ( right ) inherited the lineal title with a unanimous-decision victory over Kelly Pavlik in April 2010. The Brooklyn-born, Philly-bred crowd favorite didn't win the middleweight title until his 16th year as a professional, outpointing Dick Tiger at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. All 4 major alphabet belts on the line: WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF thus crowning an undisputed champ. The lineal championship is a pure meritocracy. The WBA determines its mandatory challengers the same way as the IBF. IBF: Vacant. Naoya Ogawa at Pride Final Conflict 2004 on Aug 15, 2004 4. def. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Canelo entered as the reigning Ring Magazine/WBO/WBA/WBC champion The fight was also for the vacant TBRB title. Trailing on all three scorecards after 10 rounds against lineal champion Michael Nunn, Toney ( left, with manager Jackie Kallen ) captured the title with an 11th-round knockout. Alvarez not only showed he was one of the best fighters in the ring -- he won the lineal middleweight championship from a future Hall of Famer -- but also continued to show he is a financial . 12. def. 1 and the No. The future Hall of Famer made four successful defenses over the next two years, including a unanimous decision over Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, before losing the title to Dick Tiger on points. Kenny Florian at UFC 118 on Aug 28, 2010 2. def. Martinez could not get out the way of Cotto's hook. Boxing fans are hoping for a showdown in 2023between Fury and unified heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk, who has theIBF, WBA (Super) andWBO belts in his grasp. Ron van Clief at UFC 4 on Dec 16, 1994 6. def. . 4. def. Masanori Suda at Pride Bushido 9 on Sep 25, 2005 It is important to note that no organization manages the lineal champion. Matt Lindland at BodogFIGHT: Clash of Nations on Apr 14, 2007 Miguel Cotto defends the lineal middleweight championship of the world on Saturday night against Daniel Geale at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 2 positions unranked until we find the two highest available contenders to fight for the No. 2 ranked contenders or between No. Mirko Filipovic at Pride Final Conflict 2005 on Aug 28, 2005 These two things are true and fine. In instances where the title is contested in another organization that has dissimilar weight classes, the nearest weight class would be considered a valid defense if contested at that weight. "I think the best is yet to come with him. The former junior welterweight has yet to face opposition at the full divisional contract weight of 160 pounds, and he does not appear intent on ever doing so. #BoxingHistory pic.twitter.com/cuqkYTukJT, Boxing Register (@BoxingRegister) November 28, 2017. Of the eight current boxers holding nine lineal championships in the sport at the moment, per the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (Floyd Mayweather Jr.is both welterweight and junior middleweight champion), Cotto is the one who least deserves acclaim for it. For more information about boxings various lineal champions throughout history, Cyber Boxing Zone is an excellent resource. All the fighters who are lineal champions, including Cotto, became so by what they did inside a boxing ring. Yes, Cotto is the lineal middleweight champion of the world. Heavyweight - 200lbs+. In 2009, Klitschko, the consensus number one heavyweight in the sport, was awarded The Ring title after defeating the number two contender at the time, Ruslan Chagaev. Dan Severn at UFC 4 on Dec 16, 1994 The World Boxing Association, the oldest of the four major sanctioning bodies, was formed in 1962. Lets get something out of the way right from the beginning. The Bronx Bull won the title from Marcel Cerdan of France and defended it twice before losing to Sugar Ray Robinson in their fateful sixth meeting. 3. def. In February, in a nontitle fight in Nicaragua, Gonzalez crushed journeyman Valentin Leon in three rounds. 2. def. 18. def. According to ESPN.coms Dan Rafael, Cotto stalled talks long enough earlier this year to make fellow megastar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez seek other options. Many people in boxing, perhaps even the majority of fight fans, still consider The Ring magazine titleholders to be the true champions. George St. Pierre goes on hiatus with no plans to return to middleweight division. 2012: Nonito Donaire pic.twitter.com/RUMxOnaYg4. DAZN uses cookies to help us deliver our services and improve your user experience. Mark Coleman at Pride 32 on Oct 21, 2006 That doesnt appear to be happening anytime soon. [15][16][17], The Cyber Boxing Zone (CBZ) website maintains lists of lineal champions, with input from boxing historian Tracy Callis of the International Boxing Research Organization. However, it wasn't fully recognized as a major world title until 2004, when it got the final blessing from the WBC. Mark Coleman at Pride 32 on Oct 21, 2006 4. def Ikuhisa Minowa at Pride Bushido 9 on Sep 25, 2005, 1. def. Putting all of those titles and terms together certainly can be a mouthful. 1 position," Peoples said. Inception of the championship occured on 5/18/1989, the first fight in the division. Not until a seventh-round TKO of Fullmer in December 1963 did Tiger earn recognition as lineal champion. Claressa Shields and Jessica McCaskill are the only women to be recognized as two-weight lineal champions. Given that information, most mainstream sports fans would probably expect there to be no more than 17 world champions in professional boxing at any given time. These lower-level titles include the Intercontinental, National and other regional title belts. 1 Origin 2 Lineal Champions 2.1 Openweight Championship 2.2 Heavyweight Championship 2.3 Light Heavyweight Championship 2.4 Middleweight Championship 2.5 Welterweight Championship 2.6 Lightweight Championship 2.7 Featherweight Championship 2.8 Bantamweight Championship 2.9 Flyweight Championship 3 References Origin 2. def. LaMotta was famously portrayed by Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull in 1980. Click here to see our full list of Junior Middleweight Lineal World Champions, from 1963 - Present. Lennox Lewis[3]) or goal (e.g., Nate Campbell[1]). From incredible comebacks to long championship reigns, huge upsets and all the amazing stories of how the sport turned a persons life around, theres nothing quite like the world of professional boxing. Alvarez not only showed he was one of the best fighters in the ring -- he won the lineal middleweight championship from a future Hall of Famer -- but also continued to show he is a financial rainmaker outside of it, the fulcrum on which so much boxing business rests, and that is why he is the 2015 ESPN.com fighter of the year. 13. def. He wants to please the fans and also test himself against the best. For example: Some consider Mark Coleman's victory in 1997, when he became the first UFC Heavyweight champion, to be the beginning of the Heavyweight lineage. During the first event at UFC 1, there were no weight limits or weight classes. The Argentine legend became champ with a 12th-round knockout of Nino Benvenuti and made a then-record 14 middleweight title defenses against the likes of Emile Griffith (twice), Denny Moyer, Bennie Briscoe and Rodrigo Valdez (twice). The WBC has fourdifferent types of championships. Had Cotto calculated wrong, its likely Martinez would have been the victor, but instead Cotto came away the lineal middleweight champion of the world. 3. def. A lineal champ can also be filled when a fighter wins all four major sanctioning belts to become the undisputed world champion. Gary Goodridge at Pride Total Elimination 2003 on Aug 10, 2003 Sporadic periods of inactivity were observed throughout the first half of the lineage. 5. def. The future Hall of Famer upset Sugar Ray Robinson for the title on a unanimous decision at Yankee Stadium, but held the title less than four months before losing it to Robinson in the rematch. After a string of title defenses, including wins over Glenn Wolfe, Reggie Johnson and Mike "The Body Snatcher" McCallum, Toney moved up 168 pounds and vacated the lineal title. In combat sports where champions are decided by a challenge, the lineal championship of a weight class is a world championship title held initially by an undisputed champion and subsequently by a fighter who defeats the reigning champion in a match at that weight class. 2. def. Roan Carneiro at Mecca: World Vale Tudo 6 on Jan 31, 2002 The Brookline, Mass., native regained the middleweight title in his rubber match with Terry Downes and retired shortly thereafter, vacating the title. HYPED for #LomachenkoLopez on Sat! 3. def. The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) was formed in 2012 in a response to what turned out to be a temporary change by The Ring magazine whereby its vacant championship policy was greatly expanded from box-offs between the No. USA Canelo Alvarez (2021 - Present) Mexico The Super Middleweight Division On March 28, 1984, Murray Sutherland, with a modest record of 41-11-1, defeated Ernie Singletary to become the first internationally accepted World Champion in the 168lbs weight class. However, its important to note that only the top title awarded by each organization receives recognition for being a legitimate world champion. Elvis Sinosic at K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 on Dec 10, 2000 The lineal champion is defined as "the man who beat the man." Robinson ( right ) returned to the ring in 1955 after a two-and-a-half-year retirement and quickly earned a shot at Bobo Olson for the title. 2. def. "It's very important for me to fight the best because I want to cement my legacy," Alvarez said. Smith entered the fight as the defending WBA (Super) champion and also The Ring's recognised lineal titleholder, following his victory in the respected World Boxing Super Series super-middleweight tournament to claim the Muhammad Ali Trophy. In other Zones we list the Bareknuckle Champions as well as Old-Timers and Title Claimants. After losing the title to Vito Antuofermo on a split decision, he'd go just 3-4-1 before retiring. 1910-1961 Championship awarding organizations Bob Sapp at Pride Shockwave on Aug 28, 2002 There's no consensus about what a positive drug or PED test means for a lineal champion's status as such. Urijah Faber at UFC 132 on Jul 2, 2011 Ryan Garcia is fighting again, this time on social media against his own promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, Sources: Navarrete to defend title against Valdez, Boxer G. Davis to serve rest of sentence in jail, Tszyu still good for title fight despite dog bite, Wood routs Lara to regain title; Catterall cruises, Lopez floors Conlan, retains featherweight title, Source: Estrada fight moves for Crawford-Spence, Sources: Fury, Joshua camps discuss Sept. bout, Ranking the 12 notable boxing title fights in June, Gervonta Davis' arrest history: Timeline of abuse and hit-and-run charges and denials, Divisional rankings: Luis Alberto Lopez and Leigh Wood take over 126-pound division. Of Junior middleweight lineal world champions, from 1963 - Present uses to! Fighter every year, learning from victories and his losses Filipovic at Pride 32 on Oct 21 2006! Is an excellent resource golovkin destroyed Geale last year in just three rounds other title... 16, 1994 6. def from 1963 - Present world champions, including Cotto, became so by they... Alvarez said the WBA determines its mandatory challengers the same way as the IBF no plans to return middleweight! 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