Frank Warren Picks Loma 'Big' Over Linares, Joshua Over Parker

By Frank Warren

THE HAPPY HABIT of the biggest fights being made across most of the weight divisions in recent times continues with the very appealing match-up between Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares, set for May 12 at Madison Square Garden.

I have long been a huge fan of Lomachenko and most of his professional career to date has been broadcast to the UK via BoxNation, so British fight fans know what he is all about and, to my mind, he is right up there with the very best around at the moment.

Linares is also a familiar face to British punters, mostly for his knack for defeating our home fighters over the last three years.

He is a slick operator and a great ambassador for the sport, but I think he is biting off a bit more than he can chew against the formidable Ukrainian.

It should be a top fight and it is one I fancy Lomachenko in a big way.

THE KNITTING TOGETHER of the heavyweight world titles continues this weekend in Cardiff when Anthony Joshua bids to add the WBO belt to his collection against the once highly-touted Kiwi Joseph Parker.

If Joshua sticks to the script it should become a fairly straightforward’s night work for the British favourite but he must overcome the vulnerabilities that we have all seen evidence of.

I believe the key to this fight is all about speed.

From the training clips we have seen it looks like Joshua is not carrying any excess baggage this time around and is focusing on speed and sharpness, which is what will beat Parker every time.

Hughie Fury is an elusive fighter with a totally different style to Joshua, but he made Parker look particularly ponderous.

Parker, I believe, isn’t quite living up to his early promise when he looked an explosive customer, but since reaching title level he has not showed himself to be anything ultra-special.

That is not to say this is a fight that doesn’t carry dangers for Joshua because we have seen him get caught. Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko and Carlos Takam have all exposed a certain vulnerability in his defences.

Parker is not a bad puncher and, if he lands a jackpot shot and is able to sustain an attack, an upset could be on the cards.

My hunch, however, leans towards a routine home win.

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