Why Lineal shouldn't be here 

Let's go back to when the Lineal/The Ring title didn't exist. Back then, there was only a World Champion.

Then the title's were split. First between the WBA (Known also by othernames) and WBC, then later the IBF was recognized and even later the WBO.

When the titles were first split, The Ring Magazine created a The Ring title. This belt was awarded to all reigning World Champions. Challengers could win it by beating them. Should someone vacate it, the only way to win it would be to be recognized by The Ring as the No.1 or No.2 fighter in your division and beat the other man ranked 1 or 2 (Some exceptions were made for No.3)

Then came the unfortunate decision in the 1990s by The Ring to stop awarding these titles. But they did not stop ranking fighters. When the No.1 and No.2 fighters fought and a victor came out, that person was dubbed the Lineal Champion.

An example is Floyd Mayweather, Jr.; Lineal Super Featherweight Champion from 1998-2001 (Ring belts were awarded again in 2002).

Mayweather worked his way up to the No.2 spot and challenged No.1 and WBC Champion Genaro Hernández. He was considered the Lineal Champion because there was no The Ring Champion.

Naseem Hamed won the Lineal title and lost it in a period when The Ring titles weren't being awarded. The man who beat him for his title, Marco Antonio Barrera, was later awarded The Ring title. His Lineal title was switched with the The Ring title because the Lineal title only existed as a substitute. 

This applies for Lennox Lewis. He was awarded the The Ring title when awarding them began again in 2002. Therefore, the Lineal title was NOT on the line in his fight with Vitali Klitschko. Any objections?