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Linares outpoints Crolla, wins RING lightweight title

Anthony Crolla (left) and Jorge Linares. Photo: Lawrence Lustig
Fighters Network
24
Sep

Jorge Linares won THE RING and WBA lightweight titles on Saturday by outpointing Anthony Crolla over 12 competitive rounds in Manchester, England.

Linares (41-3, 27 knockouts), who won by scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-114, boxed and moved well for most of the fight, flashing fast jabs, crisp body-head combinations and accurate right hands that held back the steady pressure of the hometown favorite.

Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs), the defending WBA titleholder, was the game aggressor throughout the fight, and he had his moments when he backed the talented Venezuelan to the ropes, but he could not match the speed and explosiveness of Linares’ offense.

Linares, a 31-year-old veteran who splits time between Tokyo and Las Vegas, was THE RING’s No. 1-rated lightweight coming into the Crolla fight. He has now won 10 consecutive bouts since suffering back-to-back stoppages to Antonio DeMarco and Sergio Thompson in 2011 and 2012.



Crolla, a 29-year-old Manchester native, was THE RING’s No. 3-rated lightweight contender. He was unbeaten in his prior 10 bouts, including a WBA title-winning effort against Darleys Perez last November, coming into Saturday’s fight.

A full report by Tom Gray will be posted soon.