Talented Linares has no problem with Crolla in rematch

Sub Lead26-Mar-17by John J. Raspanti

By John J. Raspanti

Linares

WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares boxed and punched his way to wide 12 round unanimous decision over former champion Anthony Crolla at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Saturday night.

All three judges had Linares the winner by identical scores of 118-109.

Maxboxing scored the fight 118-110 for the defending champion. Linares had captured the title from Crolla last September in the same arena.

In rounds one and two, the fleet footed Linares (42-3,27 KOs) used his speed to keep the aggressive Crolla (31-6, 13 KOs) at bay. He jabbed and moved—while Crolla, with his hometown fans cheering his every move, jumped and in and out and went to the body.

Linares,31, took over the fight in the next few round with a wonderful display of superior boxing skills. He fired blazing combinations to the head and body. Crolla, not blessed with much power, bobbed and weaved and whipped in an occasional hook to the belly.

Crolla,30, tried everything he could think of to get Linares out of his game. He connected with an uppercut in round five, but in return, ate a slashing hook to the face. Blood was dripping from a cut near his left eye. Linares, a former three-division champion, dug a beauty of a left hook into Crolla’s gut. Seconds later, a couple of uppercuts crashed home.

In rounds six, a driving left uppercut sent Crolla to the canvas. The British fighter got up at the count of four - and showed great intestinal fortitude by fighting back. Linares continued his onslaught in the next stanza. He slipped to his left and right, stinging Crolla with slashing bows.

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Linares kept finding Crolla with head bobbing uppercuts in round eight. Crolla mounted something of comeback during the stanza. He connected with a couple of strong bodyshots. On the verge of being knocked out a round earlier, Crolla had his best two minutes since the opening stanza.

Crolla went in search of a miracle in round nine. A left hook excited his fans. Linares rested and was back in control in round 10.

Linares used subtle movement and quick hands to punish Crolla. He walked away, (a move perfected by former heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott 60 years ago), stopped, and connected with a combination. Crolla kept coming forward but had no answers.

Told he was likely far behind on the scorecards, Crolla went for a knockout in round 11, but as mentioned earlier, he’s not a big puncher. Linares used angles and pumped his jab in Crolla’s face. A huge uppercut had to hurt.

Linares boxed and stayed away from Crolla in the 12^th and final round. He landed when he felt like it. Crolla, with a heart bigger than his body, kept trying but the mission to win had become impossible.

“Thank you everybody,” said Linares. “Anthony (Crolla) and me are both warriors. I worked three times as hard. Now, I want to go back to the United States and get the big fights.”