What next for Linares?

When Jorge Linares handed Vasyl Lomachenko his first knock down before going on to a brave stoppage defeat at Maddison Square Garden in May, few could have predicted what would happen to the Venezuelan just eight months later when suffering a shock first round stoppage defeat at the hands of Pablo Cesar Cano.

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“The Golden Boy” had been enjoying a remarkable renaissance to his career with wins over the likes of Kevin Mitchell, Anthony Crolla (twice) and Luke Campbell before giving many people’s pound-for-pound number one a huge scare in New York.

The 33-year-old then made light work of Abner Mares on his return and looked destined for big things, stepping in to the light welterweight division with the likes of Maurice Hooker and Kiryl Relikh in the cross hairs.

Never looked right at 140lb

With the benefit of hindsight, there had been warning signs in the build up to the bout with Cano that it may not be plain sailing for the future hall of famer. Linares had looked fleshy at the weigh-in, not a term one would normally associate with the former WBC belt holder and it was notable he was by far the smaller man to Cano who had previously boxed at welterweight earlier in his career.

Linares was caught heavy early in the contest by an over-hand right and never recovered, suffering three knockdowns before he was stopped on his feet by referee Ricky Gonzalez late in the round.

“The Golden Boy” still has plenty of options

While the defeat harms Linares’ stock and some pundits have been quick to call for his retirement, he still has plenty to offer the sport, particularly back down at lightweight. The success enjoyed against Lomachenko was on another scale to what the Ukrainian’s other recent foes had achieved, including that of Guillermo Rigondeaux who was comprehensively out-boxed for the six rounds it lasted, and his winning streak prior to that effort saw him win WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine versions of World titles.

A story that kind of went under the radar in boxing was the shocking upset loss by Jorge Linares to Pablo Cano. This sets him back considerably.

— Al Bernstein (@AlBernstein) January 25, 2019

At 33 years old, time isn’t on his side but with the IBF World Lightweight title vacant, he may be able to work his way into a title shot or potentially fight the winner of the Errol Spence Jr/Mikey Garcia showdown in Texas, potential fights that all boxing purists would like to see.

UK return a possibility

Anthony Crolla could be the other option and the Mancunian may see this as the ideal opportunity to avenge his two defeats, a fight that would surely sell out Manchester Arena once again.

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Linares came through a similar sticky patch in his career in 2011/12 when losing back-to-back fights to Mexicans Sergio Thompson and Antonio DeMarco; that experience might just give him the confidence that he can turn his career around one more time.