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 Calloway all inside the first round of their respective fights. On October 16, 2010 Briggs fought for the WBC heavyweight title against Vitali Klitschko in the O World at Hamburg, the fight billed as "'Thunderstorm"'. During the fight Briggs took a severe beating and after the fight, went down in his quarters. Briggs lost a clear unanimous decision 120–107, 120–105, and 120–107. Brought to a hospital, Briggs was initially treated in intensive care and found to have suffered a left orbital fracture, a broken nose, and a torn left biceps. After a gap of more than three years, Briggs fought