Jorge Linares is Ready: I'm Going To Fight Anthony Crolla Next!

By Rick Reeno

WBC lightweight champion Jorge Linares (40-3, 27KOs) has advised BoxingScene.com that he intends to fight WBA champion Anthony Crolla (31-4-3, 13KOs) in the coming months.

Linares has been out with injury since last October's knockout of Ivan Cano in Venezuela.

He was scheduled to make a mandatory defense against Dejan Zlaticanin, but pulled out in early February after fracturing his right hand in camp.

Linares was required to rest his injured hand for two months. The hand recovered well and now he plans to return to UK soil. He traveled to London last May and overcame adversity to score a knockout of mandatory challenger Kevin Mitchell in the tenth.

"I'm going to be fighting Crolla, that's the plan," Linares told BoxingScene.com.

"I already have experience [fighting in the UK], so I'm going to go back. I already have experience [fighting there] from the Kevin Mitchell fight."

Crolla was not his only option. WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan was also gunning to get Linares in the ring.

The Venezuelan champion reveals that his biggest motivation to select Crolla was the opportunity to reclaim the WBA title. Linares was a WBA world champion at super featherweight and lost that belt in a major upset back in 2009, when Juan Carlos Salgado blew him out in the first round in Tokyo, Japan.

"There was kind of a bidding [battle between the two promoters], but I want the fight with Crolla to honor Gilberto Mendoza [Sr.]. I lost that title a while ago and I want to get it back. I've been dreaming about that, and that's the reason I'm taking the fight iwth Crolla," Linares said.

Crolla is riding a very hot streak. He captured the WBA belt last November with a fifth round knockout of Darleys Perez - with a left hook to the body. Earlier this month, he overcame some early scares to come from behind and pull off a sensational knockout of undefeated puncher Ismael Barroso in the seventh - with a right hand to the body.

Even Linares was surprised by the knockout of Barroso, who was favored by many oddsmakers to win the fight. Linares felt Barroso, while being the mandatory challenger, was too inexperienced and completely punched himself out in the first half of the fight.

"Yeah I was surprised [that Crolla knocked him out]. In boxing nothing is written. I think Barroso wore himself out and didn't have enough experience to fight at the championship level," Linares said.