Talent Ain’t Everything: Review and Ratings Update
by Cliff Rold
When he’s on offense, Jorge Linares can look like one of the best in the world. His speed, delivery, and speed, are world-class stuff.
His defense and chin ain’t and that’s why Linares is where he is after another shocking knockout loss over the weekend to Sergio Thompson.
It’s rare that a fighter can overcome a bad chin to truly stand out from the crowd, and it’s hard to do in talented areas of the scale liker Lightweight. Terry Norris walked the tightrope for years, but during a relatively down period for Jr. Middleweight. Michael Moorer did it at Heavyweight, winning the crown, but he didn’t hold it long.
Linares in some sense is probably a victim of unfair expectations, raised by word of mouth and hardcore fan block thinking in some quarters. He’s more a victim of a play on an old Jack Dempsey adage…
…he doesn’t know when to duck.
It was a slow weekend, but the Linares loss shakes up at least one top ten.
Ratings Update
Lightweight: Thompson creeps into the top ten with the Linares win. Hank Lundy was also given consideration.
Jr. Bantamweight: It looked like it had the potential and turned out that way. On the road, Suriyan Sor Rungvisai got off the deck twice early but didn’t have enough to save his belt versus Yota Sato.
The full ratings update is a click away.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com