After their first fight was hailed as one of boxing’s best of 2016, Jorge Linares made sure his lightweight title rematch with Anthony Crolla on Saturday wasn’t so much a fight as a boxing exhibition.
With the right hand injury that hampered him in their first meeting fully healed, Linares (42-3, 27 KOs) was masterful in pitching a near shutout of Crolla, in the former titleholder’s backyard of Manchester, England. All three judges scored the fight 118-109. CBS Sports scored it for Linares, 119-108 .
Unlike the first fight last September, which featured alternating shifts of momentum, Linares controlled distance throughout and avoided getting caught by anything Crolla (31-6-3, 13 KOs) could muster.