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
Badou Jack at the Opening Ceremonies. He lost in the first round to India's Vijender Singh. Jack started his professional career in his native Sweden where he won his debut fight by unanimous decision on June 6, 2009. His next four fights were contested in Sweden and Finland, with Jack winning each by KO/TKO, two in the first round. After meeting former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs at a Swedish boxing event, held in honor of the Swedish boxing legend Ingemar Johansson in 2009, where Jack was fighting and Briggs was brought in as a guest, Jack would move to the United States