Tyson Fury bulldozed his way to a seventh-round TKO of Deontay Wilder this past February to claim the WBC heavyweight championship in brutal fashion.
The dominant win further validated "The Gypsy King" as arguably the best heavyweight in the world. But even prior to snatching the WBC title, Fury was, and still is, the reigning lineal heavyweight champion of the world.
To that point, a lot of boxing fans — both casual and serious — find the lineal title confusing. However, just as Fury has always touted, it's embedded in the sweet science, dating all the way back to the late 1880s when John L. Sullivan reigned as the one recognized heavyweight champ, before the era of multiple associations. In other words, the lineal title goes to "the man who beat the man," generally won when a fighter dethrones a champ who has been part of a line of successors back to an undisputed champion.
Legendary boxers have laid claim to being the heavyweight world lineal champion, including the likes of Jack Johnson (1908-1915), Jack Dempsey (1919-1923), Joe Louis (1937-1949) and Rocky Marciano (1952-1956) to name a few.
Additional legends such as Floyd Patterson (1956-1959, 1960-1962), Sonny Liston (1962-1964), Joe Frazier (1970-1973), George Foreman (1973-1974, 1994-1997), Muhammad Ali (1964-1967, 1974-1978, 1978-1979), Larry Holmes (1980-1985), Mike Tyson (1988-1990), Evander Holyfield (1990-1992, 1993-1994) and Lennox Lewis (1998-2001, 2001-2004) followed with reigns as well. As did Wladimir Klitschko (2009-2015), which brings us to Fury's current status.
Fury defeated Klitschko by unanimous decision in November 2015 to win the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and lineal heavyweight titles. What followed was a whirlwind of personal issues, including drug addiction, binge drinking and mental health battles with depression and anxiety that forced him to relinquish his titles and exit boxing altogether.
The "Gypsy King" would return to the ring in June 2018, still claiming to be the lineal champion, as he never lost the title in the ring. Helping his cause is the lineal heavyweight title isn't physical hardware like the four other major world championship titles: WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF.
During the buildup to their February rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Wilder joked with Fury that the lineal title was nothing more than the "belt that's holding up your pants" and that the British fighter can keep it after he gets knocked out. Well, Fury certainly made Wilder eat his words, as he not only kept the lineal title, but took Wilder's championship as well.
While Fury is still proud to be the lineal titleholder, being the WBC and lineal heavyweight champion is that much sweeter for the "Gypsy King."