JORGE LINARES
The fast hands, the graceful feet. The 43 wins and the three defeats. Elliot Worsell talks to the one and only Jorge Linares...
We speak to the masterful Venezuelan ahead of his world title defence
WHEN Jorge Linares relocated to London last summer it felt a bit like the day in 1996 when Arsene Wenger arrived to teach Arsenal and everybody else how to keep a football on the ground and pass it. He was an elocutionist sent to clean up poor grammar. He was Mr. Miyagi showing Daniel how to bring down Cobra Kai. Here to educate, and lead by example, if you were to speak to any British fight fan – or, indeed, any British boxer – they would tell you they were blessed by the Venezuelan’s mere presence.
Jorge Linares is that good. He’s that revered. Three victories on British soil gave fans a taste of what the WBA world lightweight champion was about, but the prospect of his return – this time to train, with no intention of bashing up Brits – was viewed as a gift from the boxing gods. (Or perhaps an apology for the misery he’d previously caused.)
“I really enjoyed training in England,” Linares says. “I like going over there because the people know me. They really welcomed me. It surprised me to learn that a lot of people on the street know me and know the work I have done. If I get the opportunity to go back, either to train or fight, I definitely would. In fact, I’m hoping to do some more training there in March.”
The people of England are aware of Jorge Linares for a few reasons. They know him because he defeated Kevin Mitchell in 2015. They know him because he defeated Anthony Crolla in 2016 and again in 2017. They know him because he defeated Luke Campbell last September. Those who have really studied Jorge Linares, meanwhile, have been celebrating his wizardry since 2002, the year he turned professional, and have seen him win four world titles in three weight divisions and compete 46 times in total.
It’s the opponents, though, who know Linares best, for they have to do more than just watch him slack-jawed in admiration. It is they who must somehow try and solve the riddle and stifle Linares’ hand speed, which remains blinding, and also slow feet that wouldn’t look out of place in a ballroom. Easier said than done, and it doesn’t even necessarily sound easy.
Kevin Mitchell did what many are unable to do against Linares: he hit him, often. He unsettled the champion, dropped him in round five, and hurt him on other occasions. Alas, it wasn’t enough. Linares, in that one, showed he was more than just a pretty box-puncher with an ability to glide like a figure skater. He showed, instead, he was ballsy and was now, in his 13th year as a pro, better-equipped to dig deep and grind out a result. He got it, too, in the penultimate round.
As for Anthony Crolla, he got a bit of everything. He got some of the warrior, the Linares prepared to stand and trade and ensure he comes away having landed more punches, and then, in the rematch, had to endure the matador who is ➤
NO BOXER WANTS TO LOSE A FIGHT BUT YOU HAVE LEARN FROM IT AND IMPROVE. THAT’S WHAT I DID
economical, versatile and full of tricks, who lands shots from angles non-existent to most.
Finally, there was Luke Campbell, who pushed Linares close, losing a split-decision, but was forever playing catch up and carried the rueful look of a man who only realised he was capable of beating the master after a lesson had been taught and he was many rounds in the red.
“They were all different,” Linares says. “The first one with Mitchell was very different to the others. He was very agile and strong. He was a good boxer and it was a tough fight.
“Crolla was different because instead of it being in London it was in Manchester. That was a shock. The Manchester fans were noisy and really behind their man. By the second fight, I was a little more used to it, used to fighting in front of the British fans, and that helped me put on a better performance. I had been there before. I knew what to expect. Over there in England, the fans are great. They are very passionate and loud. You have to learn how to deal with that.”
In retrospect, it was never likely to faze Linares. Not when you consider the fact he has fought in Japan, Korea, Panama, Argentina, Mexico, the United States and his native Venezuela. A well-travelled man, Linares isn’t the type to require home comforts in order to click into gear and perform. On the contrary, his style, as cool as his appearance, is one that seems to be enhanced by the relaxed nature of a road trip. There is often less pressure. He can be indulgent. Take his time. Please himself. He is not the larger-than-life front man but a session musician more gifted than those for
whom he plays music. As such, he is afforded time and space to concentrate on what comes naturally to him: the foundations, the skills, the science he makes sweeter than anyone else.
Perfection for a fighter, though, is often counterproductive. It can help win fights, of course, but too much of a good thing, too much perfection, can turn fans away and make fights seem more like exhibitions than a source of Saturday night entertainment. Roy Jones can tell you that. So too can Floyd Mayweather. The appeal with someone like Linares, however, is this: while his technique is perfect, and his combinations often transcendent, he is levelled out by a vulnerability that ensures each of his fights teeters on the brink of disaster. It’s the thing that will likely stop him being remembered as one of the all-time greats. Yet it is also the very thing that endears him to fans.
His first loss, back in 2009, was applied to his 27-fight unbeaten record in just 73 seconds by the fists of Juan Carlos Salgado. It separated Linares from his WBA world superfeatherweight title. Shocking, humiliating, it wasn’t how his hero, Oscar De La Hoya, would have lost. It seemed out of character. A blip, an aberration, a disaster. But it stuck nonetheless and was soon supported by further reality checks in the form of backto-back stoppage defeats against Antonio Demarco in 2011 and Sergio Thompson in 2012. Demarco outlasted Linares down the stretch to force an 11th round TKO, while Thompson, an unheralded Mexican, floored him in round two and cut him open. Linares, they said, was damaged goods. Finished.
“I have learned a lot in my career from victories and defeats,” Linares admits. “No boxer ever wants to lose a fight but it usually happens to all boxers and you have to learn from it and improve. That’s what I did. Now, at 32, I feel I am at my best as a fighter, and that is because of the wins I have had and also the defeats. I am more intelligent and more dangerous.”
Speaking to this intelligence and danger, Linares, since losing to Thompson, has won 12 fights in a row, capturing the WBC and WBA world lightweight titles along the way. Wary, not gun-shy, these setbacks have helped to smooth rough edges, but haven’t diluted Linares’ ability to entertain. Still he throws both hands in combination; still he isn’t content until he’s made an indelible mark on his opponent. He’s 32 now. He knows all about winning and losing.
“I started boxing at five and have been boxing for 27 years now,” he says. “That is a very long time. I know I’m coming to the peak years of my career and might not have too long left in the sport. But, honestly, at this moment I feel better than ever. You’re always tired in camp, that is normal, but I’m still learning every day and enjoying the process of getting ready for a fight. That is important.”
A man on the periphery of the elite, Linares, you suspect, needs big fights this year. To that end, there is talk of a rendezvous with Mikey Garcia, the former WBC lightweight champion, as well as one with Vasyl Lomachenko, the WBO super- featherweight champion, and arguably the pound-for-pound best boxer on the planet. First, though, Linares’ motivation will be put to the test – if nothing else – when he makes the third defence of his WBA lightweight title against Filipino southpaw Mercito Gesta this Saturday (January 27).
“I’m fighting back-to-back southpaws,” he says. “I had to prepare with a lot of southpaws going into the Luke Campbell fight and it has been the same with this fight against Gesta. I think that gives me a big advantage. I’m getting used to fighting them. It’s becoming normal for me.
“I’m also a little bit taller than him, which is another advantage I will use. I have trained very hard, I am very well-prepared, and I have been sparring a lot with Diego Magdaleno. All we have to do now is get the weight off and then wait for the first bell. I have been through this process many times before. It is not new to me.”
That said, it would be easy for Linares, at a time when everyone is fawning over his handiwork, to take his eye off the prize and succumb to another Salgado, Demarco or Thompson moment. Though close to marquee fights against Garcia and Lomachenko, he knows better than anyone that an opponent doesn’t have to be superior to him in the skill department to hand him a loss. It is presumably for this reason the
LOMACHENKO IS VERY FAST BUT I AM TOO. NOT MANY WANT TO FIGHT HIM, BUT I WILL
champion is treating Gesta, a contender a level or two beneath him, as if he were Garcia or, indeed, Lomachenko.
“It’s not an easy fight – Gesta’s no joke,” Linares says. “He’s trained by Freddie Roach and you can never underestimate Roach.
“The truth is, I respect Gesta. He’s hungry and he has worked hard to get the opportunity. I’ve seen him a lot. I had the opportunity to train with him in 2010 when we were with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles. We sparred a couple of rounds. He’s good, he’s left-handed and he’s strong.”
Providing Gesta doesn’t turn out to be another Salgado, Demarco or Thompson, we should be able to look forward to Linares, 43-3 (27), measuring his artistry against perhaps the only two men capable of matching him in this department, Garcia and Lomachenko, later this year.
“Mikey Garcia is a very good fighter,” Jorge says. “He’s big, strong and skilful. I don’t know if he will fight again at lightweight, but even if he stays at 140lbs I would be willing to follow him and fight him there. I will do whatever it takes to make that fight happen.
“If Garcia doesn’t happen, or we are left waiting, I’d also like to fight Lomachenko. I see Garcia being a tougher opponent than Lomachenko. Lomachenko is very skilled, with a great amateur pedigree. He is very fast. But I am also very fast and I think being able to match him for speed will give him some difficulties. It’s a big fight; a fight everybody would like to see. That’s why I want it to happen. Not many people want to fight Lomachenko, but I will.
“This year should be the most important of my career. I have imagined it on many occasions.
“Big opportunities are coming and there are rumours of big fights. I know 2018 will be very important for me.”
Enjoy him while you can. The work of Jorge Linares won’t be on exhibit forever.