Video: Lineal Heavyweight Chronology

To BE the man ..you gotta BEAT the man!

The sport of boxing is unfortunately plagued by the relentless alphabet soup of doom. Limited integrity exists but there’s something we can always look to for the purpose of determining the true champion regardless of the timeframe or division. The “lineal” or “linear” champion. This is defined as “the man who beat the man” and is a rich “family tree” of sorts. Today’s focus: the heavyweight division in professional boxing.

Clarification: this is NOT the same as or exclusively tied to RING magazine’s recognition of their champion. Yes, the lineal heavyweight champion has often been identical with the RING magazine champion, but not always. They aren’t the same.

Way back in 1885 when the sport was on the cusp of becoming the “gloved” version we know and love today, a star emerged in John Lawrence Sullivan. He was against gloves, but ironically came to be the face of the rise of gloved warfare. Sullivan’s victory over Dominick McCaffrey, debated or not, made him the origin point of heavyweight boxing. He’s patient zero, if you will. From Sullivan’s defeat at the hands of James John Corbett in 1892, the “disease” would continue to spread to each man who defeated the last. I kid, of course; if this were a disease, it would be the first ever to be desired.

In general, there are two ways to become the lineal champion. The first is simple; defeat the current, reigning linear champion. The second; unify the alphabet titles available (today, that would be to win the RING magazine, WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO [and debatably the IBO title as well, depending on who you ask] titles). Another parameter, in the event of a vacancy, is that the top two contenders must square off and a winner must emerge. Typically, somewhere between the two mentioned standards you’ll see the top two contenders compete; it’s inevitable is what I’m saying. You will see these scenarios unfold in my video at different stages of history.

Let’s talk about breaks in the lineage real quick, since I brought it up. There have been cases where the lineal champion simply retired without being defeated for the honor. In that case, as mentioned, someone needs to unify the titles and defeat the corresponding top contender to revive the lineage and claim the honor. There have been four (4) instances in which the lineage was broken by retirement over the past 146 years. Thus, to get technical, the “man who beat the man” isn’t a thing but by virtue of parameters, we can get by. The current “lineage” goes back to 2009 when Wladimir Klitschko earned the honor five (5) years after Lennox Lewis retired. Wlad’s case is very compelling; I got it covered in the video.

The longest streak of “man who beat the man” occurred from Floyd Patterson’s 1956 coronation to the retirement of Lennox Lewis in 2004 [48 consecutive years of rich history]. Speaking of Patterson, he was the first man to win back the title after losing it but I’m getting ahead of myself; you can enjoy the video for the finer details. And believe me when I say that there will be many fine details in this madness of a sport we call boxing. I’ll address disputes and you can let me know in my comment section your opinion on the matter. An example of this will be the debacle of whether Joe Frazier was already champion before he met Muhammad Ali in 1971 or if he became the official purist champion by defeating the Louisville Lip. There’s a case for both lines of thought. Another example would be the question of whether Vitali Klitschko and Anthony Joshua were ever the linear champions of their era. I address this all, don’t worry.

One last thing; here’s a summary of the four breaks in the lineage:

1. James J Jeffries broke it when he retired in 1905 and a new lineage began with Marvin Hart later that year. Jeffries returned to fight Jack Johnson in 1910 and was defeated; so if you want to get technical…I suppose the lineage is still in one piece at this point.

2. Gene Tunney would break the lineage in 1928 when he retired [and he stayed retired] and Max Schmeling would start a new line in 1930. Schmeling’s line would go from 1930 to 1949 when Joe Louis retired after a 12 year reign. Ezzard Charles would save the streak when he beat a returning Louis in 1950.

3. The line would truly be broken in 1956 when Rocky Marciano retired, leaving the “Schmeling line” dead in the water after a 26 year stint. The earlier mentioned “Patterson line” would begin from here and extend for 48 years to 2004. It saw the most champions and perhaps the richest sect of history during its stint.

4. Lennox Lewis retired in 2004 having beaten every man he faced at one point or another. Five years later, Wladimir Klitschko became the man and we’re currently living the “Klitschko line” that has seen Dr. Steelhammer, Tyson Fury, and now Oleksandr Usyk. Here’s hoping there’s never another break (how naive, I know).

Alright, alright; I’ve held you long enough. Go enjoy the history of the lineal heavyweight championship. A BoxingPedia original documentary by TheCharlesJackson. You can also enjoy the heavyweight lineages of the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles by becoming a member on my YouTube channel [@boxingpedia on YouTube]. There will also be a SPECIAL EDITION series covering all forty-five (45) lineal heavyweight champions in detail from John L. Sullivan all the way to Oleksandr Usyk. Don’t miss out, become a member today.

Written, narrated, and produced by TheCharlesJackson, author of the Boxing Encyclopedia. Happy New Year, fight fans.