This event promised a great deal from two of the world’s top-tier Lightweights, and the crowd certainly got their fill at the Manchester Arena. Following a highly competitive, satisfying affair, the consensus ruler Jorge Linares seized a Unanimous Decision tonight, allowing him to take home Crolla’s WBA crown and the newly vacant RING title.
While one judge seemed to have things a little wide at 117-111, the other two observers turned in fairer scores of 115-114 and 115-113, mirroring the closeness of this pleasing scrap. Here at Boxing Base I actually tallied the bout 115-113, based on Crolla consistently advancing, stalking, and maintaining what appeared to be the higher punch volume. That said, the official score was anything but controversial. This was a tremendous scrap, a major win for UK boxing, and the sport in general without question.
Crolla vs Linares was a battle of technical boxers (and deceptive bangers in Crolla’s case) going in. Crolla remained constant, pressing forward while popping out a strong jab and well placed blows to the mid-section. The body shots, as we all know from witnessing recent outings against Ismael Barroso and Darleys Perez, are something of a specialty. Crolla wasn’t victorious after twelve back-and-forth stanzas, but did an exceptional job against a man he and promoter Eddie Hearn could’ve easily traded in for a much softer title defense.
Linares may have been the cagier of the two, but the Venezuelan was mightily creative with zipping hand speed and combinations when his let his hands flew. Like Crolla, Linares also saw value in working the body, and notched up success downstairs. Cleanly nailing Crolla, who adopts a high guard, isn’t the easiest of tasks, but Linares managed to almost end the night early in the 6th, responding from a barrage of body shots to wobble his foe with a crunching right hand to the whiskers. Crolla decided to stand and trade, courageously seeing out the remaining 20 seconds before staggering to his corner.
Linares appeared to be wilting in the 7th, so much so that it seemed like another inspiring Crolla upset could be on the cards. But Linares soon found reserves in his tank, thrust himself back into the fight, made his eye-catching blistering, heavy flurries count, and notably closed the contest with two strong rounds. The marks of war were evident at the final bell, with Crolla sporting a cut to the left side of his scalp and right eye, and Linares a cut on his left eye. All (with the exception of the scalp variety) looked to be from punches.
Linares now climbs to 41 wins, 3 defeats, 27 knockouts, while Crolla’s impressive victory streak coming to a halt as he reduces to 31 wins, 5 defeats, 3 draws, 13 knockouts. Despite the loss, I’d be surprised if the BB Rankings Panel decides to demote Crolla (currently standing at No.3) following a such a strong performance. As for Linares, it’s a given he’ll be staying put.
Crolla vs Linares: Undercard
- Hosea Burton beats Fernando Casteneda via TKO 3 – Light Heavyweight
- Conor Benn beats Ross Jameson via PTS 6 – Junior Welterweight
- Callum Johnson beats Willbeforce Shihepo via KO 9 – Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Championship
- Jack Arnfield beats John Ryder via UD 12 (117-114, 118-110, 115-114) – Middleweight
How did you score Crolla vs Linares, readers? And how would you feel about a rematch?
