Heavyweight Lineal Champions + Notable Contenders

First off I'd like to thank MattDonnellson, Kmac, SonnyListon'sJab, Jack, Casamyor, Bremen, Cobbler, TBooze and others for helping me with this.

What I have done is gone through the resume's of every lineal heavyweight champ (From Sullivan to Lewis) and looked for 5 pieces of data: how long they reigned, how many top 10 ranked (pre 1892 it was newspaper clippings, extracts, etc. from 1892 to 1923 it was Matt's rankings, from then on it was the ring rankings) opponents they beat, how many top 10 ranked opponents they defended the lineal belt against, whether they beat "the man" and lastly whether they had beaten a past or future lineal champ.

Here is the raw data:

I have it all tabulated in a spreadsheet so all I have to do is think up a point system and bob's yer uncle

Key: CC=current champ, TD = title defence, NC=non-current champ.

Sullivan: 7 years: Donaldson, Dalton, Ryan (x2), Elliot, Mitchell, Slade, Mcaffrey, Kilrain (TD).

Corbett: 5 years: Choynski (x2), Kilrain, Mcaffrey, Mccoy, Sullivan (CC)

Fitzsimmons: 2 years: Hall, Choynski, Maher, Corbett (CC), Ruhlin, Sharkey, O’Brien

Jeffries: 6 years: Sharkey (x2, 1TD), Armstrong, Fitzsimmons (x2, CC + TD), Corbett (x2, 2TDNC), Kennedy, Ruhlin (TD)

Hart: 1 year: Carter( x2), Ferguson, Ruhlin, Johnson (NC), Root, Sullivan, Ross

Burns: 3 years: Hart (CC), O’Brien

Johnson: 7 years: Childs, Gardner, Martin, Mcvea (x3), Ferguson, Jeanette (x4), Langford, Fitsimmons (NC*), Flynn, Burns (CC), Ross (TD), Kaufman (TD), Ketchel (TD), Jeffries (TDNC*), Moran (TD),

Willard: 4 years: J. Johnson (CC), Moran (TD), F. Johnson

Dempsey: 7 years: Morris, Fulton, Miske (x2, 1TD), Willard (CC), Brennan (TD), Carpentier (TD), Gibbons (TD), Firpo (TD), Sharkey (NC)

Tunney: 2 years: Spalla, Risko, Dempsey (x2, CC, TDNC), Heeney (TD)

Schmeling: 2 years: Risko, Uzcudun, Sharkey (CC), Stribling (TD), Walker, Neusel, Louis (NC)

Sharkey: 1 years: F. Johnson, Rojas, Weinert, Renault, Gorman, Godfrey, Wills, Maloney, Delaney, Stribling, Carnera (NC), Schmelling (CC)

Carnera: 1 year: Stribling, Godfrey, Levinsky, Schaaf, Sharkey (CC)

Baer: 1 year: Risko, Levinsky (x2), Schaaf, Griffiths, Schmelling (NC), Carnera (CC), Farr, Galento

Braddock: 2 years: Lasky, Baer (CC), Farr

Louis: 12 years: Massera, Ramage (x2), Perroni, Brown, Carnera (NC), Levinsky, Baer (NC), Retzlaff, Attore, Braddock (CC), Farr (TD), Mann (TD), Schmelling (TDNC), Galento (TD), Pastor (TD), Godoy (TD), Paycheck (TD), Burman (TD), Simon (x2, 2TD), Baer (x2, 2TD), Conn (x2, 2TD), Nova (TD), Mauriello (TD), Walcott (x2, 2TDNC), Savold, Brion

Charles: 2 years: Maxim (x4, 1TD), Bivins (x2), Baksi, Maxim, Walcott (x2, NC +TDNC), Valentino (TD), Louis (TDNC), Oma (TD), Layne (x2), Brion, Harrison, Wallace, Satterfield

Walcott: 1 year: Sheppard, Murray, Baksi, Bivins, Gomez, Oma, Maxim (x2), Ray, Johnson, Agramonte, Charles (x2, CC + TDNC)

Marciano: 4 years: Lastarza (x2, 1TD), Layne, Louis (NC), Matthews, Walcott (x2, CC + TDNC), Charles (x2, TDNC), Cockell (TD), Moore (TD)

Patterson: 5 years: Harrison, Slade, Jackson (x2, 1TD), Moore, Harris (TD), London (TD), Johanneson (x2, CC +TDNC), Machen, Chuvalo, Bonavena

Johanneson : 1 year: Machen, Patterson (CC)

Liston: 2 years: Bethea, DeJohn, Williams, Harris, Folley, Machen, Patterson (x2, CC + TDNC), Clark

Ali: 11 years: Daniels, Lazarante, Moore, Jones, Cooper, Liston (x2, CC+TDNC), Patterson (x2, TDNC, NC), Chuvalo (TD), London (TD), Mildenberger (TD), Terrell (TD), Folley (TD), Quarry (x2), Bonavena, Ellis, Foster, Bugner (x2, TD), Norton (x2, TD), Frazier (x2, NC + TDNC), Foreman (CC), Wepner (TD), Lyle (TD), Young (TD), Evangelista (TD), Shavers (TD), L. Spinks (CC)

Frazier: 3 years: Bonavena (x2), Chuvalo, Ramos, Quarry (x2), Ellis, Foster (TD), Ali (TDNC), Bugner

Foreman: 4 years: Chuvalo, Frazier (x2 CC +NC), Norton (TD), Lyle, Moorer (CC),

L. Spinks: 0 years: Ali (CC), Evangelista, Mercardo

Holmes: 5 years: Shavers (x2), Norton, Evangelista, Weaver, Zanon, Jones, LeDoux, Ali (CC), Berbick (TD), Spinks (TDNC), Cooney (TD), Cobb (TD) Witherspoon (TD), Smith (TD), Bey (TD), Williams (TD), Mercer

M. Spinks: 3 years: Holmes (x2, CC + TDNC)

Tyson : 2 years: Berbick, Smith, Thomas, Tucker, Biggs, Holmes (NC*), Spinks (CC) , Williams (TD), Ruddock (x2), Bruno, Seldon,

Douglas: 0 years: Page, Berbick, Tyson (CC)

Holyfield: 3 years: Thomas, Dokes, Rodrigues, Douglas (CC), Foreman (TDNC), Holmes (TDNC), Bowe (CC), Tyson (x2 NC), Moorer (NC), Rahman

Bowe: 1 year: Holyfield (x2 CC + NC), Hide, Golota (x2)

Moorer: 0 years: Holyfield (CC)

Briggs: 1 year: Foreman (CC), Lyakhovic

Lewis: 6 years: Ruddock, Tucker, Jackson, Butler, Mercer, Mccall, Akinwade, Golota, Briggs (CC), Holyfield (TDNC), Grant (TD), Tua (TD), Rahman (CC), Tyson (TDNC), V. Klitschko (TD)

Rahman: 0 years: Lewis (CC), Barrett

notable contenders - using the criteria they never beat the number 1/2 whilst ranked 1/2, nor did they beat "the man"

V. Klitschko: Kirk Johnson, Sanders, Williams (TD), Peter, Gomez, Arreola, Kevin Johnson, Solis, Briggs (NC*)

W. Klitschko: Byrd (x2), McCline, Peter, Brock, Brewster, Ibragimov, Thompson, Rahman (NC*), Chagaev, Chambers (TD)

 

It gives some interesting results. If I give each fighter: 1 point for every year they reigned and every past or future lineal champ they beat; 2 points for beating the current lineal champ; 3 points for every top 10 opponent they faced and 4 points for every time they defended vs a top 10 opponent, here is the ranking.

Louis
Ali
Holmes
Johnson
Charles
Lewis
Marciano
Patterson
Walcott
Holyfield
Jeffries
Dempsey
Sullivan
Sharkey
Frazier
Tyson
W. Klitschko
Liston
V. Klitschko
Baer
Corbett
Schmelling
Hart
Fitzsimmons
Foreman
Tunney
Willard
Carnera
Bowe
Burns
Braddock
M. Spinks
L. Spinks
Douglas
Johanneson
Briggs
Rahman
Moorer

 

It is, I just wanted to get the information altogether in one place, when you look at what hart and sharkey did in their time, they get really underrated, same with patterson.

I feel also the k bros compare well with champs from past era's in terms of accomplishments.

One thing is, liston is very hard to rank highly using any consistent system. A lot have him in the top 4/8, based on what he actually did in the ring, it's hard to justify.

 

No to both.

 

I used the ring ratings from 1924 onwards but not always their choice of belt. I don't believe they awarded it to big george the second time nor to briggs. Other cases also.

After vitali beat johnson and sander beat wlad they were seen as the best two heavyweights. The winner became the new champion.

With wlad it is not as clear cut, but beating chagaev who was prime and ranked number 3 was enough.

Is either claim box less legitimate than say sharkey vs schmelling or patterson vs moore?

Lineal rules just state number 1 has to beat 2 or 3. In both cases of the brothers this happened by my reckoning, unless anyone has evidence to the contrary?

 

But you're happy that hart was a lineal champ? Or schmelling? Or patterson? Or holmes?