Mindbreaker for the ranking purists on here...

This is a great fight. I’m cautious about declaring anything until they fight, and Ramirez is still in the picture. Mikey is a nomad and shouldn’t be in the discussion. He doesn’t seem to have interest in fighting any of the guys mentioned. Not sure who he wants to fight because the Danny G talk has subsided. I hope Mikey gets his head screwed on straight because he’s wasting prime years. Mikey Loma seems like another great matchup that will never happen. If he’s looking to ease his way down to 135, it would be cool to see Garcia call out the winner of this one. Would be a good matchup.

 

How the **** would he even be the Lineal champ at 140. He beat Broner and Lipinets.
Lipinets had a belt but had never even fought a top 10 guy at his own weight class. A really weak weight class at that.

 

Well, Fury beat the man and hasn’t lost since.
So if you trace the lineage, it´s him.

But how does Mikey have any claim to the 140lb lineage?
Cawford unified and moved up. So the lineage is broken.

 

What? How?


The **** they doing over at TBRB?
So Mikey beats Broner at 140 and he becomes a top 3 guy at the weight? OK, maybe.
(Crawford was unified the division a month later.)
But he then reestablishes the lineage by beating Lipinets? HOW? How was Lipinets ranked so high? Lip had not fought a single top 10 jr.welterweight at that point. Wtf?

Whatever...

 

I think many might say he lost his claim. He hasn't fought at 140 in 18+ months. 18 months has long been The Ring's and thus others' standard as well.

Either way, I don't feel Prograis vs. Taylor is #1 vs. #2 decisive enough with the argument for Mikey looming so it wouldn't create a new lineage. A unified titlist in the division exists as well and he's none of those three, so tough to say this would create a new lineage. But the argument exists I do suppose so can't really hate on whatever the results are and opinions can go multiple directions without being strange.

 

Some folks rank Denis Grachev among former lineal LHW champions for beating Erdei.

It is all in the eye of the beholder and even so, a case by case basis.

As for Fury, I think anyone who considers him lineal must have no standards of a fighter maintaining that status; from inactivity to failing drug tests to downright repeated personal statements of retirement. Because any of those measures would have removed him from that claim. Those that didn't, likely count Grachev and thus Edwin Rodriguez and Andre Ward among their former lineal champions. Well, heck, they'd still have Ward as their lineal LHW champ.

 

I really hope Garcia fights Prograis after he deals with soccer hooligan Taylor. That’s gonna be a war.