Is Tyson Fury still lineal champion ?

Lineal can be broken just like Lennox ceased being the lineal (not when he retired) but when certain belts are unified again.. it could happen in back to back fights in theory.. but they'll always call Canelo the lineal champ.. even though if Lennox came back.. he couldn't have that right either..

 

WBA-WBC-IBF-WBO-Ring-Lineal can be separated into six belts.. even though all 4 belts (or 3 depending) make the same title..

 

TBRB is irrelevant when it comes to determining "lineal" champions, because technically they are just a website and they are certainly not recognized as any official authority by the national boxing federations around the world.

Ring Magazine awards "Ring title", which again could or could not be recognized as "lineal". Again, Ring is a magazine and not an official authority recognized by the national boxing federations around the world, so they don't have a monopoly on determining who is "the man" either (although they are obviously much more relevant than TBRB).

Lineal title itself does not exist so it is difficult to determine things like that. But considering that Tyson Fury's boxing license is suspended, that means that technically he is not a professional boxer, and therefore he is not a boxing champion.

 

If Fury comes back and beats a top 10 contender before that I think Fury will be universally accepted as at least the top #2 HW of the division, therefore being a mandatory obstacle to claim the lineal title.

 

Yes, Tyson Fury is still the heavyweight champion of the world.

 

Yes, and if he comes back and beats someone in the top 2 (before any #1 v #2 fight has taken place) I'd say it would be regarded as him defending his lineal title by people who care about the lineal title.

For these reasons, until his retirement seems absolute permanent ... or until someone in the current top 10 cleans up the current mess and establishes supremacy ..... it makes sense to say Fury is still champion.

 

I don't agree with that. IMO the title is bound to become vacant in the next 6 months unless Fury fights someone of note in that time period. That will then mark 18 months since his last "win or defense" of the lineal title. As of right now he has no boxing license nor a fight lined up and in my personal estimation its quite irrelevant if Fury declared his retirement or not. What matters if he shows up in a ring, not what he says into a microphone.

We're certainly not going to wait around 5 years for him to decide are we. I think 18 months is a very fair period for his to remain inactive while enjoying the respect of worldwide boxing fans as the lineal champion.

 

Tbh I've stopped caring.

I'll go with the TBRB but I'm not passionate about it.

 

That would make sense in a world where the other heavyweights have been active and racking up significant results in the meantime, but generally that's been far from the case.

Most, or perhaps all, of the top 10 or so HWs, have nothing much on their recent resumes. Many of them have nothing of particular note on their entire career resumes.

I value activity more than anything, but the lineal championship doesn't change hands through inactivity alone, unlike normal rankings.
That's where I'm coming from with this. But I respect the difference in opinion.

 

I was under the impression The Ring Lineal is only stripped due to retirement, or being relinquished. Could be wrong though.

 

Yeah The Ring changed their rules a while along.
But the lineal is still the lineal, it's the man who beat the man, you can only lose the title if beaten in the ring or you give it up.

 

And that's the problem with this definition. Say Fury comes back, makes 1 fight against a guy like Charr and wins, then stays inactive for 5 years. But does not retire! It would then be ludicrous to accept Fury as the lineal champion for 5 years.

Imagine Lewis never officially retired. By the popular definition he would STILL be lineal champion today. Surely inactivity has to be factored into the equation.

 

Yes, but 12 to 18 months isn't long enough spell of inactivity to lose the LINEAL claim, imo.
It's long enough to drop him from the top 10 of active fighters, but I'd still call him champion in the absence of any real rival.

By all means, if you don't agree with it, then that's fine, but in that case you're basically rejecing the concept of a LINEAL champion.

 

I'm not, but I am pointing out how it can be abused by an inactive or downright lazy lineal beltholder. There should be ways for boxing fans to justify not recognizing a lineal belt holder if he abuses his belt.

Fury thus far let two fight dates pass by. Said he needed more time but he will be back in the ring "very soon". Then photos of him surface with 300 lbs on. This is getting very close to abusing the lineal championship IMO. He is at the very least 6 months away from getting back in the ring. And God knows if that will be against any sort of ranked opposition. More realistically he will only fight again in 12 months. That will mark 24 months of inactivity.

Say hypothetically in September 2017 Fury hasn't fought yet. And then again in the same month hypothetically Wilder (who earlier beat Povetkin) squares off with AJ (who earlier beat Wlad). Who has the more legit claim of being lineal champion: An inactive 350 lbs Fury or the winner of Wilder vs. AJ.

 

The heavyweight championship unders Queensbury rules dates back 130 years or something like that.

Jack Dempsey went 2 years without defending his title 1921 to 1923, and then took another 3 years off before coming back and losing it to Gene Tunney in 1926.
That was pretty bad.