the ultimate trace of heavyweight lineage...1719-2009

[Illmatic]

James Figg 1719-1724
Ned Sutton 1724-1725
James Figg 1725-1730
Tom Pipes 1730-1735
George Taylor 1735-1738
Jack Broughton 1738-1750
Jack Slack 1750-1760
William Stevens 1760-1761
George Meggs 1761-1762
George Millsom 1762-1765
Tom Juchau 1765-1766
William Darts 1766-1769
Tom Lyons 1769-1769
VACANT 1769-1771
Peter Corcoran 1771-1776
Harry Sellers 1776-1780
Duggan Fearns 1780-1780
VACANT 1780-1784
Tom Johnson 1784-1791
Benjamin Brain 1791-1794
Daniel Mendoza 1794-1795
John Jackson 1795-1795
VACANT 1795-1796
Thomas Owen 1796-1797
Jack Bartholemew 1797-1800
Jem Belcher 1800-1805
Henry Pearce 1805-1807
John Gully 1807-1808
VACANT 1808-1809
Tom Cribb 1809-1822
VACANT 1822-1823
Tom Spring 1823-1824
Tom Cannon 1824-1825
Jem Ward 1825-1827
Peter Crawley 1827-1827
Jem Ward 1827-1832
VANCANT 1832-1833
James Burke 1833-1839
William Thompson 1839-1840
Ben Caunt 1840-1841
Nick Ward 1841-1841
Ben Caunt 1841-1845
William Thompson 1845-1850
VACANT 1850-1851
Harry Broome 1851-1856
Tom Paddock 1856-1858
Tom Sayers 1858-1860
Sam Hurst 1860-1861
Jem Mace 1861-1862
Tom King 1862-1862
VACANT 1862-1866
Jem Mace -1866-1873
Tom Allen 1873-1876
Joe Goss 1876-1880
Paddy Ryan 1880-1882
John L. Sullivan 1882-1892
James J. Corbett 1892-1897
Bob Fitzsimmons 1897-1899
James J. Jeffries 1899-1905
Marvin Hart 1905-1906
Tommy Burns 1906-1908
Jack Johnson 1908-1915
Jess Willard 1915-1919
Jack Dempsey 1919-1926
Gene Tunney 1926-1928
VACANT 1928-1930
Max Schmeling 1930-1932
Jack Sharkey 1932-1933
Primo Carnera 1933-1934
Max Baer 1934-1935
James J. Braddock 1935-1937
Joe Louis 1937-1949
Ezzard Charles 1949-1951
Jersey Joe Walcott 1951-1952
Rocky Marciano 1952-1956
Floyd Patterson 1956-1959
Ingemar Johannsen 1959-1960
Floyd Patterson 1960-1962
Sonny Liston 1962-1964
Muhammad Ali 1964-1971
Joe Frazier 1971-1973
George Foreman 1973-1974
Muhammad Ali 1974-1978
Leon Spinks 1978-1978
Muhammad Ali 1978-1978
Larry Holmes 1978-1985
Michael Spinks 1985-1988
Mike Tyson 1988-1990
Buster Douglas 1990-1990
Evander Holyfield 1990-1992
Riddick Bowe 1992-1993
Evander Holyfield 1993-1994
Michael Moorer 1994-1994
George Foreman 1994-1997
Shannon Briggs 1997-1998
Lennox Lewis 1998-2001
Hasim Rahman 2001-2001
Lennox Lewis 2001-2003
VACANT 2003-Present

[teeto]

Illmatic can i just ask one thing, just out of curiosity becasue i never get this cleared up, even if it doesnt change anything (maybe from a technical standpoint) i still wanna know- when foreman beat Moorer, did Foreman then fought again, did Foreman briefly retire before his bout with Briggs? If he did then you gunna get some people saying the title was vacant and Holyfield eventually cleared that up. If Foreman didnt retire then your compilation is spot on. Its just so i know, thanks if you can clear that up for me.

[teeto]

And btw you are insane if you researched all that! Haha, dedication that.

[Illmatic]

Illmatic can i just ask one thing, just out of curiosity becasue i never get this cleared up, even if it doesnt change anything (maybe from a technical standpoint) i still wanna know- when foreman beat Moorer, did Foreman then fought again, did Foreman briefly retire before his bout with Briggs? If he did then you gunna get some people saying the title was vacant and Holyfield eventually cleared that up. If Foreman didnt retire then your compilation is spot on. Its just so i know, thanks if you can clear that up for me.

idk, never heard of it..but there was only a 7 mo span of inactivity.

[Illmatic]

And btw you are insane if you researched all that! Haha, dedication that.

well, ive been bedridden with the flu for three days, I took some nyquil, but it wasnt working, so I did this.

Always wanted to do it.

[Illmatic]

Jem Mace...now this is how a heavyweight champ looks. Smooth, but will knock you the fuck out.

[Illmatic]

Jem Ward/Nick Ward; Leon Spinks/Michael Spinks- Brothers who were champions

James Figg, Jem Ward, Jem Mace, Floyd Patterson, Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman- Repeat Champions

btw..Tom Cribb was the man...regularly fought black fighters almost 100 yrs before American champions did.

[Benny Blanco]

Jem Mace...now this is how a heavyweight champ looks. Smooth, but will knock you the fuck out.

Does he have a bottle of whiskey in his hand?

[Illmatic]

Does he have a bottle of whiskey in his hand?

yup...a real champ. Pimpin.

[Illmatic]

Jem Mace and Sam Langford

[cardstars]

Props Ill

So it appears that the current vacancy is the longest in history. Fantastic

[Illmatic]

Props Ill

So it appears that the current vacancy is the longest in history. Fantastic

Great observation.

[McGrain]

Jem Mace and Sam Langford

What a great picture, thanks.

[An Invisible Dog]

Great thread. So I just wanted to ask,

Were Vitali and Sanders not ranked no 1 and 2 when they fought in 2004?
Can vacant lineage only be won by the no 1 and no 2 fighting for it?
If this is the case then since 2003 have the top two ranked heavyweights not fought?
Could one not argue that given Wlad and Vitali's circumstances that Wlad and Chagaev fought for the lineage?

Cheers.