I hear the term used often, but can't really find too much info on it. Is "lineal" champion an officially recognized title by organizations or is it just a made up fan term used to describe who they think is a best champ? I've heard some people argue about what exactly it means, what do you guys make of it?
It's the man who beat the man who beat the man. Hopkins unified middleweight. Taylor beat Hopkins Pavlik beat Taylor Martinez beat Pavlik Cotto beat Martinez Cotto is currently the lineal middleweight champion.
Lineal champ is the man who beat the man, who beat the man, who beat the man.. etc.... I don't think it's officially recognized but for example it would be like, at the start of 2005 Bernard Hopkins was universally recognized as THE real middleweight champ --> Jermain Taylor beat him --> Kelly Pavklik beat Jermain --> Sergio Martinez beat him (at middleweight for the titles) --> Miguel Cotto beat Sergio see the lineal connection?
So, lineage starts with an undisputed champion. What happens when there is an undisputed champion along with a lineal one ?
I dont really know for sure. :huh but being undisputed champ is a safe measure for being 'The Man' again with the middleweights... you could say Golovkin is the undisputed champ as he's pretty much recognised of being the divisions king. But as stated above Cotto is lineal champ.... :think good question
I dont think so... If they get stripped I expect GGG to pick up the WBC belt and start his own lineage
If The Cotto/Canelo winner get stripped/vacate, the Lineal Title would be vacated as well. A fight vs #1-2 or a new Undisputed Champ would have to be crowned to create a new lineage.
Neither. It denotes whoever currently holds the lineage of championship (who beat who in an unbroken chain barring vacancies/stripping/retirement/death), mostly useful for historians but also embraced by fans when discussing who 'the man' in a division is.
OK, but this is now where I start to get confused. So the lineal champion "beat the man...to become the man", BUT they don't always follow. Right now Adonis Stevenson is said to be the lineal champ at light heavy, yet Kovalev is cleary "the man" of the divison. Same with Cotto vs Golovkin in Middleweight. But then if the lineal champion loses the title of "the man" without actually losing a fight, then doesn't the "lineal" term becoming meaningless?
By that logic Martinez was no longer lineal middleweight champion when the WBC stripped him to give Chavez Jr a belt.