Anthony Crolla is fully aware of what awaits Devin Haney this weekend. Live on DAZN on Saturday night, Haney takes on Jorge Linares in the biggest test of his career so far as he defends his recently acquired WBC lightweight belt.
Back in 2016, Linares ventured to Manchester, England, and defeated Crolla on points in front of a hostile crowd that was frantically rooting for their hero. The following year, the skilful Venezuelan returned to northwest England to tackle Crolla in an immediate rematch and once again he was victorious.
“He was so technically good,” remembers Crolla as he looks back on his attempt to become the world’s best lightweight when speaking exclusively to DAZN. “I’d always been a massive fan of Linares right up to our fight and I still rate him highly today, but myself and Joe [Gallagher] had a plan even though we both knew that we were going in with a quality operator with so much skill.
“I’d been watching his fight with Antonio DeMarco and if you watch that fight then you’ll see it’s the best and worst of Jorge Linares. He’s absolutely flawless in the fight’s early going but DeMarco keeps putting pressure on and you see Linares crumble at the end. That was the kind of plan I had in place to beat him but he was just too good at times.”
With Linares’ wins over Crolla coming at a peak period in his illustrious career where he also enjoyed victories over other Brits such as Kevin Mitchell and Luke Campbell, Linares was brought back down to Earth in 2018 when he was stopped late by Vasiliy Lomachenko.
A further loss to Pablo Cesar Cano months after the Lomachenko setback had many within the boxing community preparing eulogies for Linares’ career but those speeches are currently on hold as he prepares to turn back the clock against Haney. Crolla believes his old rival can have a big say in the fight.
“He’ll be in the fight from round one,” declared Crolla. “He’s too good not to make an impression and he’s had a long camp for this one so he’ll be 100% focused and ready. If you asked me for a prediction on this a few years ago then I’d be more confident picking Linares.
“Haney is the favourite and he certainly looks the fighter on the way up but he had a hard time with an injured Gamboa and Linares is a tougher task. Haney will get the job done but this fight is a lot closer than people think.”