GUEST COLUMN
Jorge is the best I’ve ever faced and he’ll be the best Vasyl has ever faced, too
Anthony Crolla knows from experience
FOR me, Vasyl Lomachenko vs Jorge Linares is the best fight of 2018. I like Tony Bellew, and was pleased he won at the weekend (against David Haye), but this is the fight I’ve been looking forward to the most in May.
It’s a fight that doesn’t really get the attention it deserves and that’s a shame. Lomachenko is becoming a big star, and could be a crossover star at some point, but this fight doesn’t have any trash talk and therefore doesn’t have a lot of hype beyond the boxing bubble.
From a boxing fan’s point of view, though, you know this is a real fight. This is à la carte dining.
Linares is the best fighter I have ever faced. He judges the distance very well and his speed of hand is really impressive. It will be interesting to see how Lomachenko deals with that. I just think technically he’s very, very complete. He has great timing.
I’m not saying Linares is as talented as Lomachenko but he is technically close to him and that could be enough for him to have a chance in this fight. He’s a lot more experienced as a pro and can fight in more than one way. He’s not scared of letting them go, either. That’s what gives Jorge such a good chance. He will take risks.
Before I fought Linares, I was always a fan of his. When you watch videos of him training, it’s always a good watch. It’s an easy watch. He’s so smooth and fluid and technically correct in everything he does.
He is getting better, too. He was much, much better in our rematch than he was in our first fight. I felt it. My only worry is that in certain fights he sort of switches off. I thought he beat Luke Campbell convincingly but he did switch off at times in the second half, and with Mercito Gesta he almost treated it like a sparring session. He only turned it on when he wanted to.
As for Lomachenko, I’ve never shared a ring with him, but it’s clear to see people struggle dealing with his movement. He seems to dictate fights because of his movement.
I know Guillermo Rigondeaux, his last opponent, was ridiculously talented, but was he coming to the end? He was also a lot smaller than Lomachenko. For the first time, Lomachenko, on Saturday, is going up against someone who should be able to match him for speed.
This is undoubtedly the toughest fight of Lomachenko’s career, on paper, and I think Linares can have real success. I see it being a distance fight. Obviously I’m mates with Jorge now – I’ve shared a ring with him and have stayed in touch – but I really think he can cause problems and pull it off.
I’m under no illusions, though. He is a big underdog. This is Lomachenko we’re talking about. He’s being groomed to become the next superstar of boxing.
Hopefully Jorge knows that on Saturday night he will be in the away corner. He’s the one fighting the superstar. That should bring out the best in him and make him stay focused for every round.
Also, I do wonder how the split with Ismael Salas (his coach) will impact Jorge. He looks in good shape, but I’m not sure what happens on fight night. As a partnership, they worked really, really well in the past. They had a great understanding of each other and Salas is a brilliant trainer. Hopefully Salas not being there won’t affect Jorge too much but it’s definitely something you have to take into account when analysing the fight.
Lomachenko might be the smart pick, and maybe I’m being a little biased and going with my heart over my head, but I think Linares can do it on Saturday night. My only worry is that to win he will have to win well. He can’t leave anything to chance. He needs to work hard in every round. If he does that, we could definitely see an upset.
LINARES IS GETTING BETTER, I FELT IT IN OUR REMATCH