I consider the holder of the ring belt the true champion. So yes, Wlad is the current lineal champion.
Then you clearly don't understand the term of 'linear champion' then. There is no debate, he simply isn't.
I can see what you're saying about spirit of linearity but I don't agree. Wlad has at least come close to beating everyone that matters except Vitali who would be the most important person to beat to establish a lineage (it would be Wlad if we were talking about Vitali establishing lineage). If Povetkin beat Wlad in his next fight I don't think anyone would consider Povetkin as lineal champ with Vit still around and if you wouldn't then you can't really say that Wlad had the lineal title in the first place. If it was a formality that Wlad would beat Vit then I would say it doesn't matter given the circumstances but it wouldn't be by any strech of the imagination. It doesn't make Wlad any better or worse if he is recognised as lineal champ or not, I just can't see how he can be considered such when there is another Champion who would be heavy favourite to beat anyone else in the division and they won't fight. It's a shame for boxing that Wlad and Vit are brothers but they are, so it rules out a lineal HW champ as long as they both keep winning.
I like your post, great points, This should of also been for the WBA, but they said NO, but at the time of the fight, chargaev was WBA champ, saying this, i feel this victory for wlad puts him an his brother champs over all belts or belt holders at the time of there fight (chagaev/wlad) , an sence they will not fight out of brotherly love, i give them credit of controling the belts of the heavyweights at this point in time.....Linage is now formed IMO but i respect your view
Brotherly love doesn't matter. I'm not saying the brothers should fight but the fact is that one cannot be undisputed or linear champ unless they do.
If Vitali gives up his belt because of some bull**** mando, Wlad could unify the titles and become linear and undisputed, but there would still be a guy out there, aka Vitali, who many would still favour to beat Wlad's ass. Complicated ****.
If that happenned I think Vit would give up his right to be considered a champion given he only has one belt to defend. You can be the best in a division without actually being the champ but going down that road probably ends up in a discussion about the meaning of life. It is complicated **** as long as they're both around and that's why I think you can only really get a linear champ when one of them retires or starts loosing. The passing down the line of the title should be simple and it wouldn't be when there are brothers looking to avenge each others losses and ****.
I declared Wlad linear champion a few fights ago and no-one challenged me. As far as I'm concerned, he's been lineal ever since he beat Ibragimov and became the first heavyweight unifier since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Crushing Valuev would firmly establish Wladimir as linear champion. The Ring belt isn't worth a damn, & he can be excused for not boxing his brother.
Then he will never have fought the next best guy in the division and his top status can always be disputed. Never before has a champ been given such a free pass to duck the best. Never has a champion brought a bodyguard into the division with him. Vitali comes in to avenge Wlads defeats and keep any threats away from Wlad and make it easier to fight euro stiffs and so called mandatories against poor opposition. Haye insults Wlad and Vitali was the one that first wanted to fight him!
Clearly he has. For the people who act like he must actually win sanctioned fights by the WBC and WBA... it is fans like you who are holding this sport back, and making it possible for those corrupt orgs to do business as they do. Those other titles don't mean ****. Wlad has been dominating all of the undefeated fighters, top contenders, and Champions for 5 straight years. Nobody even comes close to him. He just beat Chagaev, the true WBA Champ... his brother is the WBC Champ... and became the WBC champ by beating a fighter that Wlad had already beat. Wlad holes the WBO, IBF, IBO, and Ring Magazine Heavyweight Titles.... Wlad is the true Champ. **** lineage.
Lennox retired undefeated. If there's to be linear at all, it can't involve beating Lennox. Otherwise, Lennox couldn't claim linear either, as Rocky retired undefeated.