By Luis Sandoval
Former lightweight champion Jorge Linares who hasn’t fought since his loss to Antonio DeMarco back in October of last year has resumed training at the Wild Card gym in hopes of getting back in the ring on March 31st in Cancun, Mexico.
Linares will reportedly face Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson (21-2, 19 KOs)in a ten round contest. While a regrouping is in order after his loss, getting a rematch with DeMarco is the main priority as he reflected back on the fight.
“Everyone knows we were doing an excellent job but what happened, happened. I regret the cuts and at the end, he ended up taking the belt. But we are in search of the rematch and we’ll see if he accepts it since that’s what we want the most” expressed Linares.
The plan is for both fighters to take interim fights and then have a rematch later in the year. De Marco will be fighting on March 17th in Los Mochis, Mexico against Miguel Roman as his first title defense while Linares has secured March 31st for his return.
Aside from trying to avenge his loss, Linares also hopes to remain more active than he has in prior years. He’d like to fight 3-4 times in 2012 and even sees an opportunity to challenge current interim WBA Lightweight champion Richard Abril. But at the end of the day, all plans begin with Antonio DeMarco.
“I think the most important thing is getting a rematch with De Marco. I hope to make a tune up fight and then look for the De Marco fight. Then if we win that one we would look to unify with the WBA” revealed Linares.
Both Linares and De Marco treated fans to a violent and action filled fight at Staples Center for their first fight but the two share a great respect for each other. After his win over Linares, Antonio De Marco praised his opponent and even went as far as to say he enjoyed watching Linares fight. Linares had similar praise for his rival.
“He’s truly a warrior. I respect him because he’s the world champion. And before and after the fight we always shook hands and congratulated each other. We did the work we were supposed to do so let’s see what happens next”.
Linares has already trained a full week at Wild Card and is excited to be back.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to The Boxing Lab, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
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