Lineal championship

In combat sports where champions are determined by challenge, the lineal championship in a weight class represents an intangible world title first held by the victor of a bout between top contenders in the division.

"[2][3] There is no universally recognized protocol for establishing the start of each championship lineage, leading to the absence of a single canonical list of lineal champions.

Additionally, when a sanctioning body such as the WBA, WBC, IBF, or WBO strips a title, this action is generally disregarded in determining the lineal champion.

The concept of a lineal champion was developed by boxing fans dissatisfied by the tendency of each of the various sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, etc.)

Many boxing experts view the lineal championship as a prestigious status which trumps the world titles being issued by the sanctioning bodies (e.g. Steve Farhood).

The exception at this time is Francis Ngannou, who is signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) following payment disputes with the UFC.

[8] The Ring presented Jones with its inaugural light heavyweight belt in 2002 even though then WBO titlist Dariusz Michalczewski had defeated Hill for the WBA and IBF titles in 1997 and was stripped of them.

[2] Cyber Boxing Zone and BoxingScene considered Zsolt Erdei the lineal light-heavyweight champion from his 2004 defeat of Julio César González until 2009 when he vacated his title and moved up to cruiserweight.

As he had not fought the highest-ranked opponents in the interim, Cliff Rold conceded, "while the concept of a champion needing to lose a title in the ring is solid, the practice is sometimes highly flawed".

[9] In mixed martial arts, most controversy centers on the proper method for determining the first lineal MMA champion within each weight class.

Others argue that Royce Gracie's victory at UFC 1 in 1993 is the true heavyweight starting point due to the Open-weight nature of the tournament.

[26][27] Board membership includes fifty boxing journalists and record keepers from around the world independent of sanctioning bodies and promoters.

Muhammad Ali is the only three-time lineal heavyweight champion in the history of boxing
John L. Sullivan , the first lineal champion, came to welcome his successor, Jack Johnson . Ever since, it has been a tradition for champions of the past to attend title fights of recent champions, essentially to "pass the torch" and legitimize their reign. [ citation needed ]