In theory, the ‘lineal’ title means the man who beat the man, although it’s a lot more confusing than that. If an existing lineal champ retires or moves up in weight, it’s difficult to tell exactly when the new lineage starts, and if said fighter returns, it muddies the water further.
For example, at heavyweight, Wladimir Klitschko was long recognised by everyone as the man in the division. However, since he lost to Tyson Fury, Fury has been out for three years, while Anthony Joshua has picked up all of the belts that Klitschko and Fury used to own—does that mean that Joshua is the new lineal king? Does he have to beat Wilder, or was Fury lineal all along, even as he was at 400lbs?
The fact that there are multiple belts complicates things, it means that a fighter could theoretically be recognised as lineal, but also be ranked lower than a divisional rival. Adonis Stevenson won his title all the way back in 2013, has defended against an underwhelming list of challengers, all while Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward have been taking risks and fighting the best out there. Lineal or not, I know which fighters I consider to be ‘the man’