In professional boxing, the lineal champion is considered to be the true World Championship. It is an unofficial title that traces the "lineage" of the "true" heavyweight championship throughout history. The concept of a lineal champion was developed by boxing fans dissatisfied by the tendency of each of the various sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, etc.) to recognize different champions, and in particular to strip a champion of his title for refusing to fight its top-ranked contender. Prior to the 1970s, this rarely happened. The adjective "lineal" is in reference to the manner in which titles in prize fighting traditionally passed from one champion to the next via contests in the ring – commonly described as "the man who beat the man".
When a boxer beats the reigning lineal champion, they become the new lineal champion. The lineal champion is not necessarily the boxer viewed as the best. Another criticism of the lineal championship is that a fighter may defend it against inferior opponents.
Tyson Fury is the current lineal heavyweight champion. Muhammad Ali is the only three-time lineal heavyweight boxing champion.
