Showtime Fight Preview

Jorge Linares vs. Anthony Crolla II

Whenever a fight gets an immediate rematch it usually means two things, one, that it was a close fight, and two, that the decision may have been a controversial one.  Well the first fight between Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla was definitely a good one and while the decision may not have been very controversial it was certainly close.  This time around the two will meet on Showtime on Saturday night.  The rematch is scheduled to go 12 rounds and Linares' WBA lightweight title will be on the line.  

Linares catching Crolla with a left hand

Linares is an orthodox fighter who is one of the most skilled offensive fighters in the sport.  He has a very stiff and accurate jab and good hand speed to go along with solid pop on his punches.  Along with that jab Linares also has a thudding left hook and a quick right hands and he does a tremendous job of putting his punches together.  What makes Linares such a skilled offensive fighter, besides his excellent hand speed is the fact that he can put in such good work from the outside or in the pocket.  He has the ability to control a fight with his jab and straight right hand but when he gets inside he can score with the left hook, especially to the body.  The only problem for Linares has been on the defensive side of things.  He has been stopped three times and that usually happens, in large part, due to cuts.  Linares is a bleeder and cuts very easily and those cuts, along with the blood that accompanies them has the ability to change a fight quickly.

Linares turned pro in 2002 and has been going strong for 15 years.  He suffered his first knockout loss in 2009 when Juan Carlos Salgado stopped him in the first round.  After stringing together four wins in a row disaster struck in the form of back-to-back stoppage losses to Antonio DeMarco and Sergio "Yeyo" Thompson.  However, that loss to Thompson, which came in 2012 was the last of his career and since that fight he has gone 10-0 with seven knockouts.  His career record stands at 41-3 and he has a respectable 27 knockouts.  Although Linares has always fought a good level of competition he has never really been a big name in the U.S. in part because he has spent most of his career fighting in Japan where he now lives after immigrating from Venezuela.  

Crolla catching Linares with a stiff jab

Crolla, like Linares is an orthodox fighter.  He works behind a busy jab and usually does a nice job of sticking that punch to the body, something he also does well with his straight right hand.  Crolla also throws his left hook a lot but often times there isn't a tremendous amount of power on that punch.  Crolla has an aggressive style and usually doesn't take a lot of backwards steps and that makes him fun to watch but it also means he eats a lot of clean leather.  Defensively Crolla doesn't move tremendously well and he tends to square up to opponents which is one reason Linares was able to find such success in their first fight.

Crolla has a career record of 31-5-3 but only has 13 knockouts to go along with those 31 victories.  He has had some tough luck when it comes to draws, specially against Gamaliel Diaz when that fight ended early when Diaz was unable to continue after a clash of heads.  However, he also has five career losses and Linares is really the only top tier fighter he has lost to.  The last time they fought it was Crolla who had the WBA lightweight strap and he defended it successfully once before the loss to Linares.  In this fight not only will Crolla want to score the upset and get revenge on Linares but he will also be looking to take his belt back.

The first time around Linares was able to win the fight by the way of unanimous decision.  A skilled offensive fighter like Linares probably should be able to win even easier the second time around but he does have enough defensive flaws to make all of his fights interesting.  If Crolla wants to win this rematch and get his revenge he will need to really stay busy offensively.  If he can cut Linares early he can go to work on it and Linares is known for being a big bleeder.  It's no secret that judges can often been swayed by blood so if Crolla can open a cut and stay busy he can win this fight.  However, if Linares can keep Crolla on the outside with his excellent jab and straighr right hand he should control the fight.  When Crolla gets inside look for Linares to work the body and dance out of danger to avoid taking too much damage.

PREDICTION: Anthony Crolla is going to show up hungry for the win but that hunger won't get him fed.  Jorge Linares beat him once by the way of unanimous decision and for a tremendously skilled offensive fighter like Linares he should be able to make it easier the second time around.  Once again Linares will get the unanimous decision win, this time by wider margins.