When Joe Louis retired, his return fight against Ezzard Charles was considered to be for the vacant lineal championship. This is despite him retiring as champion and no clear new lineage being established in his absence.
Tyson Fury became the lineal heavyweight champion of the world when he beat Wladimir Klitschko and then he retired. He stayed retired for longer than Louis, then returned.
If you look at the TBRB and The Ring, both of them honored Fury's retirement and they considered their championships vacant until Tyson Fury defeated Deontay Wilder in their second bout. At that point they were the top two heavyweights according to The Ring, TBRB, ESPN, and the vast majority of other independent outlets.
Fury then "retired" again, and again, the TBRB and the Ring honored his retirement. Their titles were once again vacant until Oleksandr Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua the second time, as again, those two were the top rated heavyweights at that point in time.
However, Fury then unretired once again and many in the media still recognized his lineal claim from the Klitschko fight, not recognizing Usyk until he defeated Fury the first time.
So, which camp do you fall into?
Did Fury have one really long lineal championship reign, or did he have two shorter ones?
We all agree Usyk is the lineal champion now, but do you think he became lineal via his win over Fury or did he actually establish a new lineage with his second win over Anthony Joshua?
In my opinion, since they honored the retirement of Joe Louis, we need to do the same with Fury's retirements. So to me, Fury is a 2X lineal champion and he was actually challenging for Usyk's lineal championship in their first match. This is despite most of the media running with the narrative that Fury had one very long lineal reign and Usyk was the challenger.
Of course, since Usyk won their fight it ended the debate going forward. But the past is still up for discussion. Which side do you fall on?
Tyson Fury became the lineal heavyweight champion of the world when he beat Wladimir Klitschko and then he retired. He stayed retired for longer than Louis, then returned.
If you look at the TBRB and The Ring, both of them honored Fury's retirement and they considered their championships vacant until Tyson Fury defeated Deontay Wilder in their second bout. At that point they were the top two heavyweights according to The Ring, TBRB, ESPN, and the vast majority of other independent outlets.
Fury then "retired" again, and again, the TBRB and the Ring honored his retirement. Their titles were once again vacant until Oleksandr Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua the second time, as again, those two were the top rated heavyweights at that point in time.
However, Fury then unretired once again and many in the media still recognized his lineal claim from the Klitschko fight, not recognizing Usyk until he defeated Fury the first time.
So, which camp do you fall into?
Did Fury have one really long lineal championship reign, or did he have two shorter ones?
We all agree Usyk is the lineal champion now, but do you think he became lineal via his win over Fury or did he actually establish a new lineage with his second win over Anthony Joshua?
In my opinion, since they honored the retirement of Joe Louis, we need to do the same with Fury's retirements. So to me, Fury is a 2X lineal champion and he was actually challenging for Usyk's lineal championship in their first match. This is despite most of the media running with the narrative that Fury had one very long lineal reign and Usyk was the challenger.
Of course, since Usyk won their fight it ended the debate going forward. But the past is still up for discussion. Which side do you fall on?
Bronson66
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