This. Undisputed champion doesn't mean you're the undisputed #1 in the division (though it's usually the case), it means there's no alternative governing body with a different champion who can dispute your claim to be the champion of the world. It's a respected achievement because it requires beating all the champions in the division at the time, and the odds of a better fighter sitting in that division with no belts are generally pretty low... It also requires a willingness to have mandatories thrown in by multiple organisations and to fight and beat them until you've collected the other belts - in that sense, you can't get to undisputed without being willing to fight anyone. There are heaps of reasons why a unified champion deserves more respect than a champion with a single belt, and the more belts the more that's the case - undisputed is just the endpoint of that progression.
Of whichever orgs that champ holds belts with. Unless you're undisputed, you're not "the" world champ, you're "a" world champ or one of the world champs.
What? Undisputed means there isn't another titlist in the division (at least not with the premier/respectable belts).... That fighter is THE champion precisely because there AREN'T the other champions in that division.
Disagree... Teofimo is unified, not undisputed, precisely because Haney IS a champion. By that same logic, I presume you regarded AJ as undisputed up until the point where Fury beat Wilder? I come down as hard on Wilder's pathetic resume as anyone, but I still wouldn't subscribe to that logic - AJ wasn't undisputed because Wilder WAS a champion, even if a laughable one.
@sasto @JunlongXiFan Just a bit of fun, I stuck with 10x10 of sorts, but it's finished: Heavyweight Wx10 Universal Ranking System | Boxing News 24 Forum (boxingforum24.com)
Both Joshua and Fury and Wilder aspire to become undisputed in order to earn as much money as possible in the shortest time possible and carve out a place in the hall of fame and then be able to retire soon. the problem is that in today's heavyweights there is uncertainty: Usyk is not a small threat, Ruiz jr still has the chance to aspire to the title, the same Whyte and also Joyce or Hrgovic in addition both Fury and Wilder and Joshua have demonstrated in recent years not a few weak points ... all this does nothing but drive away the undisputed dreams of both Joshua and Wilder and Fury
If the system was set up correctly with one belt, a journeyman or cab drive would never be in the position to fight for a belt. He would need to fight his way into contention.
If you beat the man who beat the man then you are the champ, whether that be Jersey Joe Walcott winning the title aged 37 and in 68th bout or Leon Spinks aged 25 in his 8th bout. It is what happens on the night, that may be a for one night only performance, but as the great Jack Dempsey said " You know what a champion is? A champion is someone who's ready when the gong rings - not just before, not just after - but when it rings.