Fight Club: Classy Linares wants Crolla rematch

Declan Warrington 07:47 26/09/2016
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  • A class apart: Jorge Linares.

    Jorge Linares is the best lightweight fighter on the planet and he reaffirmed that status with a classy performance to see off Britain’s Anthony Crolla in Manchester on Saturday. The Venezuelan claimed the WBA lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory in front of his opponent’s fervent home support.

    The 31-year-old appeared to be in control throughout despite being taken 12 rounds for the first time in his career and Crolla’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed after the fight of the year contender that a rematch had already been agreed for next year.

    Both fighters have options in front of them but Crolla appeared to rule out a domestic fight against Terry Flanagan in favour of claiming back his title.

    He told Sky Sports: “I think it will be Linares next year, in February/March. It was a tough old fight, I’ll have a little rest and then we’ll do it again. I think you saw last night, the attendance and the turn out was amazing and hopefully we’ll get something similar if not better after the fight that was put on.”

    Crolla had brief moments of encouragement throughout, landing a right hand in the fifth which cut Linares’ right eye, but suffered a crucial blow in the sixth as the challenger landed a big right to leave Crolla struggling.

    That punch, Crolla admits, changed the course of the fight.

    “I thought I was in control and had him where I wanted him,” he said. “I took that right hand and I felt that it gave him that feeling that he knew he could hurt me, and could do it again. That played a big part in the fight. I recovered and won the next round, but I think it was a big point in the fight.”

    The competitive opening rounds did little to encourage the defending champion. His challenger had often appeared vulnerable in the early stages of fights, as he demonstrated when being knocked down by Kevin Mitchell in May 2015 before recovering to win.

    Crolla had been expected to pursue him during those early rounds, but instead he chose to repeatedly target Linares’ body in an attempt to tire him in preparation for the second half of the fight.

    Linares’ superior class, speed and accuracy ensured he at least edged the majority of the first five. He hurt Crolla with body shots in the fourth, one of which referee Terry O’Connor considered low, halting the action to allow the champion to recover.

    It was in the fifth when Crolla landed a promising right hand which opened a cut by Linares’ right eye, but it took until the sixth when the challenger showed his first signs of fatigue.

    Just when it appeared the action would begin to favour the champion, Linares threw the fight’s best punch when he landed a big right. The injured Crolla was forced to retreat back onto the ropes, where he appeared at threat of being stopped and remained content to survive until the round concluded.

    The Mancunian, bleeding by his left eye, increasingly appeared the fighter who once looked unlikely to progress beyond domestic or European level. He was also fighting one who – even if he had never previously gone 12 rounds – is clearly world-class.

    And Linares came close to tears when speaking after the fight, and told Sky Sports: “We gave Manchester a beautiful fight, and we can do it again. I hurt my hand in the sixth, I backed off a bit, worked, did strategy, but told my corner in the 10th ‘I’m going to go and close these next three rounds’ and I think that’s what got me the victory.

    “Once my hand heals, I’ll go back to the gym, start training, and why not come back to England? Why not come back to Manchester? I love it here. Anthony Crolla deserves a rematch. Why not do it again?”

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