I've been trying to find out who was the first reigning world middleweight champion to successfully challenge for the light-heavyweight title. I know it wasn't Dick Tiger because he had already lost the middleweight title when he won the light-heavyweight title. So I went on ChatGPT and got a series of incorrect answers, most of which were repeated numerous times as I tried to find the answer. ChatGPT even said at one point that LaMotta was the first reigning world middleweight champion to successfully challenge for the light-heavyweight title in 1950 when he defeated the reigning light-heavyweight champion, Sugar Ray Robinson... WTF??? Does ChatGPT just make up random stuff just for the sake of giving an answer?? Does anyone know who was the first fighter to do this? Or has it never been done?
I believe the first to do it was Canelo, unless he had voluntarily vacated his MW title prior to beating Kovalev. Fitz, Tiger, RJJ, Hopkins, SRL, & Barkley had all either lost or vacated their MW titles prior to winning a LHW title, & Hearns won the MW title (vs. Roldan) after winning the LHW title (from Andries).
Fitz was the first former lineal MW champion to win the lineal LHW title (and only lineal MW champion to ever win the lineal HW title. No reigning MW champion has ever won the lineal LHW title, to date.
