Current World Heavyweight Champion claimants

[Boilermaker]

I am a big believer in to be the many you have to beat the man. ie a title can be earned only when the champion is defeated. When Lennox Lewis retired in June 2003, there was no consensus champion. Looking at boxrec, there were abour 20 or so different title claimants, most of which were given no credence but all of which are claimants. So, from this date, i have traced the lineage of each and every claimant, with no residence rules. Hopefully this will eventually give us an undisputed champion.

Without any politics, it shows that Since 2003, there are currently still 13 fighters around who can trace a lineage to someone who claimed a title in 2003. This does not include those who claimed secondary titles (eg the WBC fecacal title or international title or whatever it is called) i have limited (as far as possible) the search to every national title or regional title, or dodgy World governing body.

I know you are all asking why i did this, but it started off as an interesting boxrec search of the lineage of the Australian Heavyweight title (which incidentally was pretty similar to that of the world title for much of its existence) and eventually i just extended it, through boredom and sheer willpower (ie looking for an excuse not to work).

Anyway, the results were reasonably interesting. It is quite clear from the search that there are still 3 decent title claimaints. The surprising thing, is that of Russian Chageav, who actually holds the most lineal titles. He holds the following titles:
Wba, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German titles. That actually covers a reasonably large amount of nations, and clearly he has a far better credential to be considered the world champion than i ever thought.

Next in line with no of titles is Vladimir Klitchsko. Vlad holds the IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU and Canadian titles.

Vitali, holds the third most titles. His reign currently includes the WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.

Surprisingly, the person with the 4th number of title claimants is actually David Haye. Haye has the USBA, Mexican and IBC titles as well as the Undisputed cruiserweight title. Strangely enough, his clash with Vlad will see the winner walking away with quite a few more lineal titles and will actually help find an undisputed heavyweight champion.

Outside of these 4 fighters there are no real title claimants (ok i know there are only 3 anyway). But, it is worth noting the others as they do still have lineal titles:
Plato has the PABO and South AFrican Lineal titles - The SA lineal title is a decent claim to fame as he has beaten the fighter who at one time was considered the best fighter in South Africa (even if technically Sanders and Botha were probably both better than the SA Champion).

Dimitrenko is the reigning lineal US mid west and Mid atlantic champion, although i am not sure how this title sits politically.

Areola is the lineal African champion. Zuri Lawrence is the French Champion, Malik Scott, the Nigerian Champion, Cedric Boswell is the GBU Champion, Chincangu owns the Zimbabwe and Zambian championship. Platov holds the championship of South Africa, as well as the PABA titles. Fimpong holds the Nigerian Championship and last but not least, Friday Ahunya holds the Lineal New Zealand Championship.

Incidentally, the only other title which possibly could have any type of historical significance is the Lineal World Lightheavyweight title. Roy Jones was the accepted champ at this weight (i know about Michaeljewski but he was never any chance of stepping up to heavy). Jones had actually won a regional Heavy title against Ruiz just months before Lewis retired, so technically his Light heavy title may give him a claim. However, this claim was extinguished just recently when the reigning lineal title holder, Joe Calzaghe elected to retire.

[GPater11093]

you are syaing they have the titles of like Croatia and Germany doe sthat mean they beat the guy who held that title

also i feel Wlad is lineal champ as he unified the title for me so i regard himas true champ at the moment he sthe man to beat

[Boilermaker]

you are syaing they have the titles of like Croatia and Germany doe sthat mean they beat the guy who held that title


Yeah. I started with whoever was the champion in that area (solely using boxrec) and worked out who beat the man and where the lineal title ended up. In the days of John L, before the internet and TV etc the only way for him to become champion was to follow the local scene and beat the best o fthe locals. History says the British, US and Austrlian titles were the most highly regarded. To be honest i was actually quite surprised at just how many of the titles actually lead back to the main 3 champions and it also surprised me that Haye picked up a couple of titles also. Given time, the titles will eventually lead back to one.


also i feel Wlad is lineal champ as he unified the title for me so i regard himas true champ at the moment he sthe man to beat

I probably do tend to agree. But, his brother has been considered the best in the world for a longer period of time, and he is the only of the original 4 belt holders/winners (Vitali, Byrd, Ruiz and Brewster) who held the titles when Lennox retired, that is still going strong and undefeated. Russian Chagaev is also the only undefeated legitimate champion left, so technically there is an argument that he has a good claim too. I really would love to see Haye v Klitchsko followed by Chageav v Vitali with the winners meeting. Sadly, this could only really happen if one of the klits loses so i guess i will hope for this result. Valuev-Chageav II is coming up and while it isnt that great a fight, Valuev also could make for a decent and interesting unification fight with either or both of the Klit brothers.

[GPater11093]

Yeah. I started with whoever was the champion in that area (solely using boxrec) and worked out who beat the man and where the lineal title ended up. In the days of John L, before the internet and TV etc the only way for him to become champion was to follow the local scene and beat the best o fthe locals. History says the British, US and Austrlian titles were the most highly regarded. To be honest i was actually quite surprised at just how many of the titles actually lead back to the main 3 champions and it also surprised me that Haye picked up a couple of titles also. Given time, the titles will eventually lead back to one.



I probably do tend to agree. But, his brother has been considered the best in the world for a longer period of time, and he is the only of the original 4 belt holders/winners (Vitali, Byrd, Ruiz and Brewster) who held the titles when Lennox retired, that is still going strong and undefeated. Russian Chagaev is also the only undefeated legitimate champion left, so technically there is an argument that he has a good claim too. I really would love to see Haye v Klitchsko followed by Chageav v Vitali with the winners meeting. Sadly, this could only really happen if one of the klits loses so i guess i will hope for this result. Valuev-Chageav II is coming up and while it isnt that great a fight, Valuev also could make for a decent and interesting unification fight with either or both of the Klit brothers.


ahh get you know, i work my lineages abit simpler just using the main four bodys and Wlad has unified the division since lewises retirement so i feel he is lineal but i do agree Vitali is better

[Boilermaker]

To update the list of Lineal Champions, the biggest mover has been Vlad Klitchsko. His win over Russian Chageav gets as close to a unified champion as we are going to get for some time, it seems.

His Lineal resume now see him as the reigning Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German titles panamanian and Canadian titles.

Vitali still is the second highest holder of lineal titles with two of them still being reasonably well recognised. His titles are WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.

David Haye was the 3rd highest holder. It is a shame that he didnt "unify" with either Klit, but hopefully that will happen soon. He still holds the USBA, Mexican and IBC titles as well as the world lineal Cruiserweight title.

Oleg Platov has recently extended his reign as the PABO and South African Champion with an 8th round UD over Daniil Paratyatko in Germany. He looks to have a decent record, so hopefully he will step up and his lineage will be unified soon.

Eddie Chambers has taken over the Mid West and Mid Atlantic Championships from Dimitrenko. Like Oleg, these title may see unification some time soon.

Joseph Chincango, the Zambian and Zimbabwe lineal champion has successfully defended his title with a win over Osborne Machimama.

Chris Arreola has KOd Jameel McLine to defend his lineal African title.

Cedric Boswell the undisputed GBU champion has successfully defended his title with a 6th round TKO of Serdar Uysal.

The undefeated Nigerian Champion Malik Scott is still sitting on his title.

Zuri Lawrence still holds the French title, although he may have retired.

Friday Ahunya has not yet defended his New Zealand Heavyweight title.

I do believe that my intrepid researchers have added the Panamanian title to Vlads resume and that some doubt has been cast on Malik Scott's claims to the Nigerian championship but that will have to remain until someone else does the research. The last 6 months has seen some definite improvements in the hunt for a lineal championship. I have also added the World Lineal cruiserweight title to david haye as well.

[OBCboxer]

I applaud you. That's a lot of work.

[TBooze]

Lineage is a bitch.

If ElizabethII lineage is flawed, so will any so called linear World Heavyweight Champ.

I like your work Boilermaker; but perhaps you also need to look at proverbial Bastards?

I mean when a King/Queen dies with no direct lineage but with bastard children, them children have a claim...

So when our King died (Lennox Lewis); his bastards (previous conquerors) surely had a claim on the strength of beating THE MAN?

If being the mythical World Heavyweight lineage champion, means to have a claim, you need to beat THE MAN, then Rahman and McCall both had claims, as did anyone who beat both Gentlemen after their own Lewis win. So would anyone who then beat the man, who beat McCall/Rahman etc...

[Boilermaker]

To update the list of Lineal Champions, the biggest mover has been Vlad Klitchsko. His win over Russian Chageav gets as close to a unified champion as we are going to get for some time, it seems.

His Lineal resume now see him as the reigning Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German titles panamanian and Canadian titles.

Vitali still is the second highest holder of lineal titles with two of them still being reasonably well recognised. His titles are WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.

David Haye was the 3rd highest holder. It is a shame that he didnt "unify" with either Klit, but hopefully that will happen soon. He still holds the USBA, Mexican and IBC titles as well as the world lineal Cruiserweight title.

Oleg Platov has recently extended his reign as the PABO and South African Champion with an 8th round UD over Daniil Paratyatko in Germany. He looks to have a decent record, so hopefully he will step up and his lineage will be unified soon.

Eddie Chambers has taken over the Mid West and Mid Atlantic Championships from Dimitrenko. Like Oleg, these title may see unification some time soon.

Joseph Chincango, the Zambian and Zimbabwe lineal champion has successfully defended his title with a win over Osborne Machimama.

Chris Arreola has KOd Jameel McLine to defend his lineal African title.

Cedric Boswell the undisputed GBU champion has successfully defended his title with a 6th round TKO of Serdar Uysal.

The undefeated Nigerian Champion Malik Scott is still sitting on his title.

Zuri Lawrence still holds the French title, although he may have retired.

Friday Ahunya has not yet defended his New Zealand Heavyweight title.

I do believe that my intrepid researchers have added the Panamanian title to Vlads resume and that some doubt has been cast on Malik Scott's claims to the Nigerian championship but that will have to remain until someone else does the research. The last 6 months has seen some definite improvements in the hunt for a lineal championship. I have also added the World Lineal cruiserweight title to david haye as well.

Well, two months later and the biggest change is that Vitali has taken the African title away from Chris Areola. And the unification dream is a little bit closer. His titles are WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian, OPBF and African.

In other news, we have a new French champion. Zuri Lawrence was TKOd by Jason Estrada in the 7th.

Most fans here would know that Cedric Boswell was too good for Cisse Malif and he successfully retained the highly regarded GBU championship!

For the record, Vlad still has the most titles with the following being his:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German titles panamanian and Canadian titles.

Friday Ahunya (NZ title), Malik Scott (Nigerian) and Joseph Chincangu(Zimbabwe and Zambia), Eddie Chambers (Mid West and Mid Atlantic), Oleg Platov (Pabo and South African), David Haye (USBA, Mexican, IBC and Cruiserweight) all had no fights since the last update.

[ChrisPontius]

Boilermaker, Wlad officially does not hold the WBA title. It's a bit ambiguous, because Chagaev seemed to be the higher ranked Interim champion (:lol:) when he fought Wlad, and the WBA wasn't clear about whether Valuev or Chagaev was their main man going into the fight, but after he lost, surprise surprise, they announced that Valuev was still their man. Considering Chagaev had legitly taken it from Valuev and Valuev was the reason their rematch was off, i think Chagaev should've still been recognized, especially since Valuev was coming off unimpressive performances.

Be that as it may, officially, Valuev is still the WBA champ.

[Dempsey1238]

WBA has lost any respect as a title in my eyes with the Ruiz run for years.


There is no way at the time right now WBA will agree with a unify title fight, so beating there "Real" champion imo was the next best thing.

Wlad at least remove the WBA claim as far as titles go imo. And at the movement, imo Wlad is the lineal champ.

[Dempsey1238]

I did consider VK a lineal champ shortly after Lewis retire.

But when VK retire, His words, he gave up claim to it.

Just as Robinson gave up claim to his middleweight title when he retire and came back a year later to lose to Tiger Jones.

[KobeIsGod]

WBA has lost any respect as a title in my eyes with the Ruiz run for years.


There is no way at the time right now WBA will agree with a unify title fight, so beating there "Real" champion imo was the next best thing.

Wlad at least remove the WBA claim as far as titles go imo. And at the movement, imo Wlad is the lineal champ.

Indeed, Wlad has a real solid claim (re-establishing lineage)...think about it. aside from being Ring Champ since he beat the highest available contender (the brothers will never fight)

He beat:
Byrd (IBF)
Sultan (WBO)
Chagaev (WBA-never lost it in the ring and was only stripped after he lost to wlad)
Peter (future WBC) - Vitali beat him after.

If Im not mistaken, Holmes was given "linear" and Ring champ status after one of his victims picked up another ABC strap. So why not in Wlad's case?

Moreover, he's got #2 (Povetkin) and #3 (Chambers) contenders on deck. Tell you this much, no HW champ has had or will have had to do so much to be recognized as the "Linear, undisputed HW champ"

[Boilermaker]

Boilermaker, Wlad officially does not hold the WBA title. It's a bit ambiguous, because Chagaev seemed to be the higher ranked Interim champion (:lol:) when he fought Wlad, and the WBA wasn't clear about whether Valuev or Chagaev was their main man going into the fight, but after he lost, surprise surprise, they announced that Valuev was still their man. Considering Chagaev had legitly taken it from Valuev and Valuev was the reason their rematch was off, i think Chagaev should've still been recognized, especially since Valuev was coming off unimpressive performances.

Be that as it may, officially, Valuev is still the WBA champ.

These titles are all lineal, since Lewis retired. No political appointments or strippings are allowed. A champion cannot lose his title unless he is beaten in the ring.

I do find it quite interesting, that virtually all of the national titles have already found their way to the big two, and even most o fthe obscure titles are slowly finding their way towards a single (or in the current case double) world champion.

[Dempsey1238]

Wlad had to do more than say Larry Holmes to get this claim and people are STILL claiming Wlad has no claim for the lineal title.

Outside of his brother, there relly is no one out there to fight. Wlad pretty much wrap things up over Chagaev. The last of the alpha champs imo.

[TBooze]

Wlad had to do more than say Larry Holmes to get this claim and people are STILL claiming Wlad has no claim for the lineal title.

Outside of his brother, there relly is no one out there to fight. Wlad pretty much wrap things up over Chagaev. The last of the alpha champs imo.

Well that is the problem, Vlad needs to beat his brother, or more realistically Vitali needs to retire so Vlad has a shot at becoming the Champ.

To become the champ from a vacancy you really have to beat the best opponent out there, that means at the moment Vitali/Vlad...

[Dempsey1238]

Well VK had that 4 year retirement, and WK for the most part clean up the divsion in thsos 4 years.

You dont return from 4 years and get to be number 2 out of no were imo. And beating a fat Sam Peter didnt do it for me imo.

[TBooze]

Well VK had that 4 year retirement, and WK for the most part clean up the divsion in thsos 4 years.

You dont return from 4 years and get to be number 2 out of no were imo. And beating a fat Sam Peter didnt do it for me imo.


Beating a 27-0 (24) top ranked American and a highly ranked Cuban on top of this does though in this era....

Vitali and Vlad are the two top fighters in the Heavyweight division, if we want the World Heavyweight Champion then either the brothers need to fight each other, or one quits...

[Dempsey1238]

How come Holmes does not need to face his number 1 guy??

And Wlad does?? Double standers.

[MrMarvel]

You can solve this mess so easily by recognizing the oldest title belts only, the WBA and the WBC, and not recognizing any of the other belts. That's what I do. Why? Because that's what we always did.

When the IBF first announced its champions I was unfazed. I have never recognized the IBF as anything. Holmes was the champion whether he was WBC champion or not, because he was the linear champion.

Neither the WBA nor the WBC are linear titles. They are simply the oldest of the two organizations, both emerging around the same time, and both growing out of the older system. Joined together without a linear champion seems sufficient to identify a new line. It's called unification.

OR if the WBC champion beats a fighter who becomes the WBA champion, or vice-versa, then you have your new linear champion in the WBC champion.

OR you could even add this: if the WBA champion retires, or vice-versa, then you have a new linear champion in the WBC champion. The new WBA champion must face the WBC champion to have any legitimacy, or vice-versa.

Bam. Done. Over. Problem solved. Boxing goes back to complete sanity.

This is the way it was for decades and all you guys scratching your head over this create this problem for all of us by failing to follow these simple rules.

Sorting out this mess is completely in the public hands, and all they have to do is, not return to, but simply recognize the way we have done things for nearly a century.

Put Chageav and Vitali in the ring together and you have the world champion. Anybody who wants to be recognized as the champion, will have to fight the winner.

[TBooze]

How come Holmes does not need to face his number 1 guy??

And Wlad does?? Double standers.


Holmes beat the former undefeated champion on his comeback and held a victory over his fellow alphabet title holder (Mike Weaver), thus he became THE World Champ after beating Ali.

If Vlad or Vitali beat a comebacking Lewis, then I too would rate either as THE champ...:good

[Dempsey1238]

No, if Wlad or VK beats Lewis, they would NOT be champ imo.

Might as well crown Tiger Jones World Middleweight champion after he beat Robinson.

[Dempsey1238]

Beating a 27-0 (24) top ranked American and a highly ranked Cuban on top of this does though in this era....

Vitali and Vlad are the two top fighters in the Heavyweight division, if we want the World Heavyweight Champion then either the brothers need to fight each other, or one quits...


But Wlad all ready defeated Chagaev before VK beat this so called unbeating unproven 27-0.

VK didnt earn his number 2 imo. Perhaps the win over Gomez, but not relly last nights fight base on who he beat.

He got the 2 from media because of beating over the hill version of Peter imo.

Wlad all ready prove his lineal before VK can lay a claim imo.

[Dempsey1238]

You can solve this mess so easily by recognizing the oldest title belts only, the WBA and the WBC, and not recognizing any of the other belts. That's what I do. Why? Because that's what we always did.

When the IBF first announced its champions I was unfazed. I have never recognized the IBF as anything. Holmes was the champion whether he was WBC champion or not, because he was the linear champion.

Neither the WBA nor the WBC are linear titles. They are simply the oldest of the two organizations, both emerging around the same time, and both growing out of the older system. Joined together without a linear champion seems sufficient to identify a new line. It's called unification.

OR if the WBC champion beats a fighter who becomes the WBA champion, or vice-versa, then you have your new linear champion in the WBC champion.

OR you could even add this: if the WBA champion retires, or vice-versa, then you have a new linear champion in the WBC champion. The new WBA champion must face the WBC champion to have any legitimacy, or vice-versa.

Bam. Done. Over. Problem solved. Boxing goes back to complete sanity.

This is the way it was for decades and all you guys scratching your head over this create this problem for all of us by failing to follow these simple rules.

Sorting out this mess is completely in the public hands, and all they have to do is, not return to, but simply recognize the way we have done things for nearly a century.

Put Chageav and Vitali in the ring together and you have the world champion. Anybody who wants to be recognized as the champion, will have to fight the winner.


Blame Larry Holmes for putting the IBF on the map.

I dont think the WBA should have a right to be consider part of the lineal thing because of recent actions over the last ten years.

Lewis unifys title.
A month later they strip him, and before you know it, Holyfiled is WBA champ again.
Than Jones Jr defeats Ruiz, and wam, Ruiz is WBA champ again.

Toney is WBA champ, but turn into a nc, and Ruiz is WBA champ again.

Than Valuev and the Chageav mess over who the so called REAL champ is.

The WBC has not been doing any better imo after Lewis retire.

[TBooze]

No, if Wlad or VK beats Lewis, they would NOT be champ imo.

Might as well crown Tiger Jones World Middleweight champion after he beat Robinson.

There has been no World Heavyweight Champion since Lewis' retirement so a victory over Lewis would legitimize a successor.

The Robinson situation was different in that Turpin and Olson clashed for the vacant Championship some 18 months before Robinson came back.

[TBooze]

I dont think the WBA should have a right to be consider part of the lineal thing because of recent actions over the last ten years.


The WBA has been the King of boxing corruption for 47 years, not ten.

And their Daddy, the NBA were arguably worse!

[janitor]

A few issues about prescidents

Lineage was initialy established by the unification of the British and American heavyweight titles. In all lineage has been established twice by this mechanism, and claims for lineage based on it have been put up on other ocasions:

Mace Allen

Sullivan Mitchel

Killrain Smith (claim evapourated after Sullivan beat Killrain)

After the British title declined in significance lineage was traditionaly established by a showdown between two fighters seen as the top contenders. Often the criteria by whichg they were selected was dubious as they were not always nominated by any sanctioning body:

Fitzsimmons Maher (evapourated when Corbett came out of retirment)

Hart Root (only stood the test of time with a measure of luck)

Schmeling Sharkey

Walcott Charles

Moore Patterson

Frazier Ellis (evapourated when Ali was able to come out of retirment)

Holmes Norton

Where does this leave the curent crop?

Today neither the British title or the American title are held in particularly high regard. Obviously any credible title claim today would have to be established by a faceoff between two top contenders or unification of the belts.

The fight between Vitally Klitschko and Corrie Sanders could be recognised as a fight for the lineal title as it was more credible than Hart Root. We could then regard Vitally Klitscko as relinquishing the title when he retired after the Danny Williams fight or retaining it to the present day, since neither would be inconsistant with previous practice.

If we accept that Vitally Klitschko ceased to be the lineal champion after the Williams fight or thing that he never was in the first place then we could regard the fight between Wladamir Klitscko and Ruslan Chagaev as being for the vacant title. Again it would be consistant with previous practice.

[TBooze]

Lineage is a some what naive way of claiming a champion, as stated on many an occasion, lineage throughout history has many different precedents depending on the situation we are in. The are no rules, it can be spun many a way.

I just think THE vacant Heavyweight Championship fight is created by the top two generally recognized heavyweights fighting each other, thus at the moment that means Vitali/Vlad.

[Boilermaker]

Well, two months later and the biggest change is that Vitali has taken the African title away from Chris Areola. And the unification dream is a little bit closer. His titles are WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian, OPBF and African.

In other news, we have a new French champion. Zuri Lawrence was TKOd by Jason Estrada in the 7th.

Most fans here would know that Cedric Boswell was too good for Cisse Malif and he successfully retained the highly regarded GBU championship!

For the record, Vlad still has the most titles with the following being his:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German titles panamanian and Canadian titles.

Friday Ahunya (NZ title), Malik Scott (Nigerian) and Joseph Chincangu(Zimbabwe and Zambia), Eddie Chambers (Mid West and Mid Atlantic), Oleg Platov (Pabo and South African), David Haye (USBA, Mexican, IBC and Cruiserweight) all had no fights since the last update.

Well Haye has retained his status as having the third most lineal titles on the planet, with his victory over Valuev retaining the USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight lineal straps.

None of the others have had their records updated on boxrec yet, but i do seem to remember that Joseph Chincangu fought somebody and lost. Also, one post on ESB said Malik Scott recently fought and lost a fight but no mention of either fight is on boxrec or elsewhere that i can find. Can Anyone else find or confirm these results.

Known fights that are coming up include the much awaited Oleg Platov title defence against Cengiz Cok in early December and of course the Chambers - Vlad unification title which will see one champion bow out of contention as a real World Champion claimant.

[Beeston Brawler]

Wlad has the IBF
Vitali has the WBC
David has the WBA

We need a series of fights with all three belts on the line.

I don't accept Wlad as linear for beating Chagaev...... who didn't even try and had been inactive for quite some time.

[Boilermaker]

Wlad has the IBF
Vitali has the WBC
David has the WBA

We need a series of fights with all three belts on the line.

I don't accept Wlad as linear for beating Chagaev...... who didn't even try and had been inactive for quite some time.

David never won the WBA, he was given it by politics and beating one of the guys who previously lost. His lineal claims are in other titles.

[Dempsey1238]

Lineage is a some what naive way of claiming a champion, as stated on many an occasion, lineage throughout history has many different precedents depending on the situation we are in. The are no rules, it can be spun many a way.

I just think THE vacant Heavyweight Championship fight is created by the top two generally recognized heavyweights fighting each other, thus at the moment that means Vitali/Vlad.


I felt Wlad gain the vacant heavyweight title before VK made his comeback.

It was not a great fight, but it did clean out the divsion, at the time the WBA was going though there entire mess.

[Boilermaker]

For the record, here is the current lineal champions of all bodies(taken from a thread off the classic section and updated from Lennox lewis retirement.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Well, two months later and the biggest change is that Vitali has taken the African title away from Chris Areola. And the unification dream is a little bit closer. His titles are WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian, OPBF and African.

In other news, we have a new French champion. Zuri Lawrence was TKOd by Jason Estrada in the 7th.

Most fans here would know that Cedric Boswell was too good for Cisse Malif and he successfully retained the highly regarded GBU championship!

For the record, Vlad still has the most titles with the following being his:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German titles panamanian and Canadian titles.

Friday Ahunya (NZ title), Malik Scott (Nigerian) and Joseph Chincangu(Zimbabwe and Zambia), Eddie Chambers (Mid West and Mid Atlantic), Oleg Platov (Pabo and South African), David Haye (USBA, Mexican, IBC and Cruiserweight) all had no fights since the last update.

I think that Malik Scott, Friday Ahunya and Chincangu may have possibly defended and lost their lineal titles, but if they did, the results are not on boxrec yet.

[bodhi]

Ah, didn´t see this was an old thread brought up again. Ignore this posting!

[Boilermaker]

Latest updates,
Joseph Chincangu won tko 1 addewale abbey. He retains the Zimbabwe and Zambian championship. It is interesting, that Chincangu has already been outclassed and beaten by Wlad.

There are three upcoming lineal title fights:

Thomas Adamek v Estrada for the French title
Wlad Klitchsko v Eddie Chambers will be a unification fight which will place us one step closer to having a single unified champion.
Haye v Ruiz will be for all of Haye's lineal belts.

By my count there are currently 8 lineal champions, since the retirement of Lewis, and pretty soon there will only be 7. It looks to me like we should get an awful lot closer in the next year or so. Incidentally, if Chambers were able to beat Wlad, it would put us a hell of a lot closer, since a Chambers Vitali fight would probably be inevitable.

At the moment, we still have the following picture:

Vitali
WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.
Wlad
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German titles Panamanian and Canadian titles.
Haye: USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight
Friday Ahunya (NZ title), Malik Scott (Nigerian) and Joseph Chincangu(Zimbabwe and Zambia), Eddie Chambers (Mid West and Mid Atlantic), Oleg Platov (Pabo and South African),

[Boilermaker]

Latest updates,
Joseph Chincangu won tko 1 addewale abbey. He retains the Zimbabwe and Zambian championship. It is interesting, that Chincangu has already been outclassed and beaten by Wlad.

There are three upcoming lineal title fights:

Thomas Adamek v Estrada for the French title
Wlad Klitchsko v Eddie Chambers will be a unification fight which will place us one step closer to having a single unified champion.
Haye v Ruiz will be for all of Haye's lineal belts.

By my count there are currently 8 lineal champions, since the retirement of Lewis, and pretty soon there will only be 7. It looks to me like we should get an awful lot closer in the next year or so. Incidentally, if Chambers were able to beat Wlad, it would put us a hell of a lot closer, since a Chambers Vitali fight would probably be inevitable.

At the moment, we still have the following picture:

Vitali
WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.
Wlad
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German, Ukraine titles Panamanian and Canadian titles.
Haye: USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight
Friday Ahunya (NZ title), Malik Scott (Nigerian) and Joseph Chincangu(Zimbabwe and Zambia), Eddie Chambers (Mid West and Mid Atlantic), Oleg Platov (Pabo and South African),

Wow, I bet not many people realised that the upcoming Tua vs Ahunya fight is for the New Zealand lineal championship! IF Tua wins, he will join Wladimer Klitchsko as the only Person to hold their own nations lineal title.

[Boilermaker]

Some interesting developments.

Wlad has further solidified and unified his claims. He now has added the Midwest and Mid Atlantic titles to his bow. I count that as 25 lineal titles.

Vitali stays in 2nd place with his 5 lineal titles.

Haye has successfully defended his 4 lineal titles by stopping Ruiz, with rumours that he may look to unify with the new French Champion Thomas Adamek, who won the title from Jason Estrada in dominant fashion.

It was good to see David Tua take his own national title from Friday Ahunya. Along with Wlad, he is the only person to actually hold their own country's lineal title.

Oleg Platov will defend his title against the up and coming Kubrat Pulev who is currently undefeated. might be a world title blockbuster.

Sadly, it looks like the Nigerian champion Malik Scott will continue to sit on his title. It has now been nearly 18 months since his last fight. I wonder if he will ever unify it.

There are now just 8 fighters who have a claim to any lineal title that was in existence when Lennox Lewis retired from the sport. Plus, it seems that this list will be reduced by at least one or two in the upcoming 6 months or so. We are slowly but surely getting closer to an undisputed champion.

Wlad:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German, Mid West and Mid Atlantic titles, Panamanian and Canadian titles.

Vitali: WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.
Haye: USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight
Oleg Platov: Pabo and South African,
Joseph chincangu: Zimbabwe and Zambia
Adamek: French
David Tua: NZ
Malik Scott: Nigeria

[Boilermaker]

Wlad:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German, Mid West and Mid Atlantic titles, Panamanian and Canadian titles.

Vitali: WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.
Haye: USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight
Oleg Platov: Pabo and South African,
Joseph chincangu: Zimbabwe and Zambia
Adamek: French
David Tua: NZ
Malik Scott: Nigeria

David Tua has just held on to the NZ lineal title, by the skin of his teeth!

There are no other changes whatsoever to the titles, with Wlad, Vitali, Haye Platov and Adamek all successfully defending. Malik Scott and Joseph Chincangu continue to sit on their title.

There are still 8 title claimants, but it seems that some further unification bouts might be on the horizon in the next 6 months or so.

[Hookie]

Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Jeffries (retired, but came back and faced Johnson), Johnson, Willard, Dempsey, Tunney (retired and never came back).

Tunney is still the HW Champ! Holyfield is still the CW Champ! M. Spinks is still the LHW Champ! lol

[Axe]

Adamek the French champion? I am confused...

[TBooze]

Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Jeffries (retired, but came back and faced Johnson), Johnson, Willard, Dempsey, Tunney (retired and never came back).

Tunney is still the HW Champ! Holyfield is still the CW Champ! M. Spinks is still the LHW Champ! lol

On that logic Michael Spinks was never Light Heavyweight Champion...

[Boilermaker]

Wlad:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German, Mid West and Mid Atlantic titles, Panamanian and Canadian titles.

Vitali: WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.
Haye: USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight
Oleg Platov: Pabo and South African,
Joseph chincangu: Zimbabwe and Zambia
Adamek: French
David Tua: NZ
Malik Scott: Nigeria

David Tua has just held on to the NZ lineal title, by the skin of his teeth!

There are no other changes whatsoever to the titles, with Wlad, Vitali, Haye Platov and Adamek all successfully defending. Malik Scott and Joseph Chincangu continue to sit on their title.

There are still 8 title claimants, but it seems that some further unification bouts might be on the horizon in the next 6 months or so.
Two unifications will happen soon, and both are the most publicised fights. Haye vs Klichsko and Adamek vs Klitchsko. (unless there are draws) This will move our 8 champions down to 6 and arguably 4, since Malik Scott and Chincangu seem retired. And Oleg Platov hasnt fought in ages, so perhaps it is 3.

[Boilermaker]

Adamek the French champion? I am confused...

Adamek,

lennox Lewis retired in 21 June 2003. On 20 December 2003 Steve Herelius Kod Thierry Guezouli to win the French Title (which was vacant). He then made an amazing 10 Successful defences, before losing in 2007 to Albert Sosnowski on 8 June 2007. After 3 Defences, Albert Sosnowski lost his title to Zuri Lawrence. Zuri lost his first chance to Jason Estrada on 2 September 2009. Estrada, of course, Lost his first defence of the title to Thomas Adamek. who is going on to defend his title 4 times, and is now attempting to unify.

Of course, i can see why it can be confusing, because it is arguable that the Official French champion at the time of Lennox' retirement was actually Cyril Ceror , in which case, the lineage is actually traced to the exciting youngster Vyacheslav Glazkov. This is I suppose another interpretation, and perhaps a valid one, I went with the first official defences of the recognised titles after Lennox retired. Perhaps we should keep an eye on Glaxkov.

[lufcrazy]

Wow great work! This must have taken some time!

[frankenfrank]

Vitali is the man !
After he retires it may be Wladimir.

[Boilermaker]

[QUOTE=Boilermaker;7355237]Wlad:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German, Mid West and Mid Atlantic titles, Panamanian Canadian titles, USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight

Vitali: WBC, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.

Oleg Platov: Pabo and South African,
Joseph chincangu: Zimbabwe and Zambia
Adamek: French
David Tua: NZ
Malik Scott: Nigeria

By my count, Wladimir now has 29 lineal titles. I know that Vitali's WBC title is a decent one, but we really are starting to get to the stage where even the biggest hater must see Wlad as the real world champion. Only 7 people left hav any sort of claim to his title, and Wlad has already KOd one of them.

[Boilermaker]

[QUOTE=Boilermaker;7355237]Wlad:
Wba,IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, NABF, NABA, EBU, Commonwealth, British, WBF, WBU, WBFoundation, EU, South American, Russian, Hungarian, Argentinian, Croation, Fijian, German, Mid West and Mid Atlantic titles, Panamanian Canadian titles, USBA, Mexican, IBC and World Cruiserweight

Vitali: WBC, French, Australian, IBA, Brazillian and OPBF.

Oleg Platov: Pabo and South African,
Joseph chincangu: Zimbabwe and Zambia
Monte Barrett: NZ
Malik Scott: Nigeria



the French title has been added to Vitali Klitchsko and Monte Barrett has collected the NZ title. It seems that Monte Barrett is the only active fighter left other than the Klitchsko's with a valid claim to a lineal title. It is also relevant that Wlad has already defeated Joseph Chincangu who has two national lineal titles.