THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS
PART TWO: 1905–1919
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE LINEAL HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD, 1882 — PRESENT
by Kenneth Bridgham
all records from boxrec.com
With Oleksandr Usyk’s becoming the first man to win the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in 25 years (requiring him to collect four belts) on May 18, he also secured himself as the “lineal” heavyweight champion. Simply put, the lineal champion is “the man who beat the man” in a long sequence of boxers stretching back to the first heavyweight champion of the gloved era, John L. Sullivan.
What follows is a list of the lineal heavyweight championship lineage going back to Sullivan, including very brief sketches of their careers.
For Part One of this series, click below.
MARVIN HART — “The Fighting Kentuckian”
28 WINS (20 BY KO), 7 LOSSES, 4 DRAWS, 8 NO-DECISIONS
CHAMPION JULY 3, 1905 — FEBRUARY 23, 1906
