Lineal championship For example, George Foreman was considered lineal champion from 1994 until 1997, when Shannon Briggs beat him. After the WBA and IBF stripped him of their titles in 1995, Foreman fought only two, low-ranked opponents before Briggs. The lineal champion is not necessarily the boxer viewed as the best. Cyber Boxing Zone and BoxingScene considered Zsolt Erdei the lineal light-heavyweight champion from his 2004 defeat of Julio César González until 2009, when he vacated his title and moved up to cruiserweight; as he had not fought the highest-ranked opponents in the interim, Cliff Rold conceded, "while the concept of a
Shannon Briggs manager Vladimir Hryunov announced that he would be fighting for the WBA 'Regular' title on February 25, 2017 against either Briggs or Fres Oquendo. Oquendo’s trainer Nate Jones later confirmed a fight with Briggs was in the works. On January 4, 2017 the WBA ordered for a deal to be reached between Briggs and Oquendo within 30 days or they would force a purse bid. Briggs told Sky Sports he wanted the fight to take place in the UK, after his increasing fan base, mostly due to Briggs spending a lot of time there pursuing a fight with David Haye.