By Jeff Aranow: Jorge Linares (45-4, 28 KOs) looked impressive in his light welterweight debut in destroying Abner Cotto (23-4, 12 KOs) by a 3rd round knockout in a fight streamed on Facebook Watch at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
(Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions)
Linares dropped Cotto, 30, with a right hand to the head in round 2. In round 3, Linares, 33, knocked Cotto down with a hard right hand. Cotto was dropped again moments later, but dragged Linares down in the process. Cotto was badly hurt after he got back up, and the fight was quickly stopped by the referee Raul Caiz Sr. The official time of the stoppage was a 1:31 of round 3.
Linares did a great job of blocking Cotto’s attempts to hit him with jabs and left hooks. Very few of Cotto’s shots were able to get through Linares’ guard. The difference in boxing skills between the two fighters was significant. Linares was the much better fighter of the two. Cotto showed good punching power, but that’s about it. He lacked the technical skills to compete with Linares in this fight, which isn’t surprising.
Cotto had never beaten anyone on Linares’ level during his career. This fight was meant to be a mismatch from the moment it was first made. Linares is usually fighting better opposition, but this was a case of him needing a confidence booster after his loss to Lomachenko, as well as a fighter that would help him get acclimatized to the 140 pound weight class. Cotto was perfect for the job to help welcome Linares to the light welterweight division.
This was good job by Linares in showing that his power carried up with him from the lightweight division where he previously held the WBA 135 pound title. Linares lost his WBA belt to Vasyl Lomachenko by a 10th round knockout last May in New York. If Linares can fight like this against the top level fighters in the 140 pound division, he might have a chance of winning a world title or two.
It’s still going to be awfully tough for Linares when he gets inside the ring with the elite in the light welterweight division. Linares is going to have his hands full against guys like Regis Prograis, Jose Ramirez, Maurice Hooker and Josh Taylor. Even someone like Kiryl Relikh would be a problem for Linares due to his heavy hands. These are all guys that Linares would need to find another gear for him to beat them. Prograis looks to be the best of the bunch right now, and he might be young and strong for Linares right now. Linares is looking good though. He has a chance against any of the top fighters at 140 if he fights like he did tonight.
On the positive side, Linares looked great in terms of boxing skills, defense, hand speed, power, and punch assortment. On the negative side, he was hit with a few shots that seemed to get his attention. Cotto doesn’t hit as hard as some of the better guys in the division. Linares is going to need to get accustomed to the bigger power from the fighters in the light welterweight division if he’s to excel in this weight class.
Abner Cotto’s cousin former four division world champion Miguel Cotto was at the fight tonight to watch him. Unfortunately for Miguel, it ended badly for Abner.
