In the 19th century, boxing record books such as Boxiana and Pugilistica (in Britain), and newspapers such as the Police Gazette (in America), documented the world champions and shaped public opinion as to who the leading contenders were. The Ring’s ratings and journalism largely led the way through much of the 20th century, and now in 2019, various boxing websites produce independent ratings to help keep fans informed, offering clarity amidst the ever growing assortment of ABC belts. The Lineal Championship continues in this traditional path. Boxing’s knowledgeable press unscramble the plethora of ABC Champions, deciphering who the top boxers are in each division, and when they fight, a true World Champion is crowned. Call the winner of such a match-up, “The Lineal Champion”, or the “true” champion - call him what you want, but the fight fraternity, generally consider the victor to be The Man to beat.
Selecting the two most deserving contenders for a vacant Lineal World Championship isn't, and hasn't always been straightforward. Ideally, we all want crystal clear #1 and #2 contenders where fans and analysts all agree. In reality, there is usually always a degree of disagreement. An elimination tournament can clarify matters, but such tournaments are rare, and even when they take place, often don't include the top contenders at the beginning, which immediately leaves them open to criticism. When George Groves fought Callum Smith (with The Ring's belt up for grabs) in The World Boxing Super Series final last year, Groves was No.1 across all independent ratings, but there was also a clear #2, and it wasn't Smith. Gilberto Ramirez was #2 with TBRB, Ring, BoxRec, Boxing News and Boxing Monthly. At highest, Smith was rated #3 by Ring and Boxing Monthly, but he was down at #8 with TBRB and #6 with Boxing News.
If you only refer to one set of ratings, it is possible to adhere to a strict #1 Vs #2 policy, but will those ratings be fully reflective of how the boxing community views things? When Mikey Garcia defeated Sergey Lipinets in February 2018 Wikipedia states that this was for the vacant Lineal Championship at 140lbs - on the basis that the TBRB had them ranked at #1 and #2. This seems reasonable, until you recall that The Ring had Lipinets at #8, Boxing News had him at #7 and ESPN had him at #5 (December 2017). It seems fair to say that the boxing world did not see Garcia/Lipinets as #1 Vs #2, or even #1 Vs #3 - by general consensus it was viewed more like a #1 Vs #5 match-up.
We do not recognise Smith/Groves or Garcia/Lipinets as Lineal Championship fights.
A small amount of flexibility has always been needed, when filling a Lineal Championship vacancy, but there does need to be some sort of consensus among the boxing fraternity, a majority, so our Championship Policy's standard is being raised, slightly. The five sites we refer to for ratings remain the same: The Ring, Boxing Monthly, TBRB, ESPN and Boxing News.
The new criteria:
- Each fighter must have at least three top 2 positions.
- The two fighters must share at least three #1 positions.
The previous Policy specified that each fighter must have a minimum of two top 2 positions, which meant a boxer could be eligible for fighting for a vacant Lineal Crown even if the majority of the sites didn't think he was in the top 2.
Under the new Policy, when a fight to fill a Championship vacancy takes place, the majority of the sites will consider the #1 man to be fighting during the contest. And the majority will consider both men to be at a minimum, top 2 rated fighters. When a fight meets our criteria, a true Lineal Champion will be crowned.