Quote:
Originally Posted by El Gamo
I'm confused,maybe I have misread something but it says Zsolt Erdei.So how is B Hop the Lineal champion too?
Gamo heres my understanding and how it went. I'll trace the lineal a few years back.
This is IMO the Lineal Championship flow excuse me if the dates are wrong or for any misspells. :P
I'll start from this year as it was a year that begins with the Lineal being vacated (That plus the book I have starts off there also ;D )
1939 - Conn vs. Bettina (It was decided by the 2 (NYS & NBA) major bodies that the winner of this fight would be the champion)
1939 to 1941 - Billy Conn (vacates the title)
1941 to 1948 - Gus Lesnevich
1948 to 1950 - Freddie Mills
1950 to 1952 - Joey Maxim
1952 to 1962 - Archie Moore (Moore is stripped of the titles)
1962 - Johnson vs. Jones (This fight is made to decide who is the champion)
1962 to 1962 - Harold Johnson
1963 to 1965 - Willie Pastrano
1965 to 1966 - Jose Torres
1966 to 1968 - Dick Tiger
1968 to 1974 - Bob Foster (Foster retires in '74)
And heres where it begins to get a little shady.... :-\ So pay close attention. After Foster took off there were a shit load of LHW wanting to claim status of Lineal Champ you had guys like Galindez, Rossman, Cuello, Conteh and at least 4 or 5 more guys who were all the cream of the crop.
From '74 to '83 there were a lot of fighters claiming to be the real champs but it wasn't until '81 that we actually got a Lineal Champ.
* Spinks beat Mustafa for the WBA title (The NBA & NYS titles used to be the major ones the NBA later became the WBA which is why it's considered to be the most respect)
* Braxton (aka. Qawi) then beat Saad for the WBC title
* In '83 Spinks (WBA) beat Braxton (aka. Qawi) (WBC) to claim himself as the Lineal Champ.
1983 to 1985 - Michael Spinks (vacates the titles)
1996 to 1997 - Virgil Hill
1997 to 2003 - Dariusz Michalczewski
2003 to 2004 - Julio Cesar Gonzalez (2003-2004)
2004 to present - Zsolt Erdei
Although RJJ held all the titles and was a decorated fighter that is why I've always said and will continue to say sure RJJ had all those skills and ability but not once did he "tango" with a REAL champion for a title. Every title he picked up was a given title it's that simple. NOt hating on RJJ I've just always said the truth and the facts.
So there you have it that's my input.