Which heavyweight champions fought the best fighter on the planet most often.

That's subjective. Ali retired after beating Spinks in their 78 rematch. Holmes was established as the champion post Ali's retirement. If you conscribe to the view that the lineal title can only pass by the champion losing, then yes, Holmes could not have won it until he beat Ali in 80, but then applying that criteria, the HW lineage died with Gene Tunney.

 

Yeah wasnt Bowe considered top contender at the time?

 

Without wishing to derail your thread, and I agree that you can't be retired and lineal, Holmes/Norton was in June 78, the Ali/Spinks rematch was in September 78. Do you consider Holmes/Norton was retrospectively considered for the vacant lineal title after Ali's retirement? Not questioning your view of the lineage, just interested in your logic.

 

Still I think Langford's continuous defenses against McVey and Jeanette must count for something, surely they were ranked number 1 and 2 at some point. Wills' defenses should be taken into consideration as well.

 

Damn. I already think he's underrated in some quarters & now I may have (ever so slightly) contributed to that underrating being exacerbated.

 

Yeah, I think it's one of those scenarios where the concept "lineal" champion was created, or at least cited more often, to cut through governing body politics, so true fans had a shared understanding of who "the man" in each division was.

In this case its counterproductive, in the sense Holmes was clearly the man after Ali's retirement post Spinks 2, but technically, he wasn't lineal until he met the next highest ranked HW, which I hadn't realised until your OP this evening, may have been never.

Either way, not considering him lineal, at the latest after his fight vs Ali (does a retired lineal champion retain his lineage during a comeback if no successor has been established?), does seem like enforcing the criteria too absolutely, without allowing reasonable interpretation, imo.

 

Do you:

1) Consider Wlad vs AJ as being the top 2 active contenders and established a new lineage;
2) Consider the lineage vacant when Fury returned after his retirement post Wlad;
3) Consider Fury never retired and therefore never lost lineage;
4) Something else?

Other than possibly Fury, depending on your view of the above, I agree, Holmes lineage is the only one affected at HW.

 

John L Sullivan 4-0

Paddy Ryan (W)
Alf Greenfield (W)
Dominic’s McCaffrey (W)
Jake Kilrain (W)

Based on my own rankings. Arguments could also be made for Charlie Mitchell and Jack Burke, but could also be made against Greenfield and McCafffrey, so 4-0 is probably about right.

An argument could also be made for James J Corbett (L), but I think Peter Jackson outranked him at the time following his win over Frank Slavin.

 

Holmes vs. Shavers II should count.

Earnie ascended to the top when he destroyed Norton in one.

John Tate had not yet beaten Gerrie Coetzee for the vacant WBA title so there’s not another claimant. Ali had retired a few weeks before Holmes-Shavers II.