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
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov beating Shannon Briggs before getting a decision over four time Former Champion Evander Holyfield. This fight would mark the first heavyweight unification bout since Lennox Lewis had become the last Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in his rematch with Holyfield in November 1999. Klitschko had previously held the WBO belt from October 2000 to his shock March 2003 defeat to Corrie Sanders. Klitschko dominated the fight, picking up a 119-110, 118-110 and 117-111 decision to become a unified champion. Ibragimov would retire after this fight, while Klitschko would go on hold the WBO belt until his 2015 defeat to Tyson Fury. Confirmed