Is Usyk still the World Heavyweight Championship (in your view)?

Exactly how I see it

 

If any of those 3 that followed had fought each other it might be a different story. Kabayel for one has a solid resume but no champions.

 

Giving up the belts is Usyk saying - i'm not the champ anymore; otherwise he would have taken the Kabayel fight to keep the belts. He's still lineal (and why the 'last dance' fight creates a bunch of headaches there!), but he's no longer THE man to beat, as he's taken himself out of contention for that position

 

He is the man to beat and if he's still around, the next consensus champion will need to face him to solidify his claim. Just like Tyson needed to fight Spinks to be universally recognized.

 

No. He might be the "lineal" champ, but that's not a real thing. You give up all your belts, you aren't the champ anymore.

 

The belts are a newer concept than the championship itself. So how the hell lineal is not a real thing? Champions before the 60's had no belts to their name, except for the Ring belt from the 20's, which was the equvalent of the lineal championship. Before that, they didn't even had a Ring belt.

 

I still view him as the champ. Now if he were to go on fighting for another three years and in that time wasn't fighting top contenders and another fighter unified the division or beat all of the top guys then I think my view would change. I have a feeling Usyk is one or two and done

 

WBA has been around since the 20s. Ring and Lineal might be synonymous with one another, but they aren't the same thing.

 

Correct sentiment, I suspect but wrong wording. He's actually given up the title. He's not holding it hostage like another douche has done for the best part of the last decade. Huge fan of Usyk but he's checked out already, he just wants to whip Deonkey and then sail off into the sunset.

 

Usyk by giving up of the belts is no longer the world heavyweight champion.

I am a huge fan of Usyk, but relinquishing of the belts in my opinion makes him the former world heavyweight champion.

Fair play to Usyk, he has been a great champion, who has earned the right to choose financial reward against the likes of Wilder etc rather than face a mandated title defence.

 

As a fan of his, I feel, the Rico fight ****ed everything up. I would have preferred a big fight in Germany against Kabayel at least and then retirement or even a fight against Itauma after that and then retirement but not to be.

 

The question is unclear.

If it means accomplishments it is no contest and usyk is number one far and above anyone.

If it means is he the best currently, noone knows now after his last fight.

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If it means should he be praised as the currently strongest of all heavies, the dominant ruler over the pack, you could have different opinions because he achieved so much. But when a leader of the wolf pack or the gorillas appears weak, the others start to test him. And then naturally some other will replace him when the time comes.

Dominance is not established without proof, again and again.

As soon as there is a perceived lack of proof, dominance fades.

Currently nobody is dominant in the heavies. Let's hope we get some good fights, but for me usyk has stepped down, hail him all you want for his past accomplishments.

 

This was a post on Opetia, but it ties nicely with the belief "lineal champions are the only champion" bs.