By Scott Gilfoid: Ricky Burns (41-6-1, 14 KOs) weighed in at 134.5 pounds for his fight this Saturday night against former lightweight belt holder Anthony Crolla (31-6-3, 13 KOs) for their fight at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Crolla weighed in at 134.9 lbs.
By Scott Gilfoid: Despite losing 2 out of his last 3 fights, former lightweight champion Anthony Crolla (31-6-3, 13 KOs) believes he could get a world title shot if he beats former 3 division world champion Ricky Burns (41-6-1, 14 KOs) this Saturday night in their fight at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK.
By Gavin Howie: With only a few days to go before Ricky Burns steps into the ring with Anthony Crolla at the Manchester Arena this Saturday night, I have been bemused at the lack of support or even press coverage for Burns. I have seen not 1 single piece of press for him in any of the newspapers, and only little coverage through online media. I don’t think that is fair on a future Hall of Famer.
By Scott Gilfoid: Two down in their luck former world champion Anthony Crolla (31-6-3, 13 KOs) and Ricky Burns (41-6-1, 14 KOs) will be squaring off this Saturday night on October 7 in a lightweight battle at the Manchester, Arena in Manchester, UK. Both fighters are coming off of defeats, and neither of them can afford a loss right now at this point in their careers.
By Scott Gilfoid: Former world champions Ricky Burns (41-6-1, 14 KOs) and Anthony Crolla (31-6-3, 13 KOs) will be facing each other on October 7 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. This is a fight that has been kicked around for a couple of years now by promoter Eddie Hearn.
By Scott Gilfoid: Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder will be in attendance for this month’s fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) says he’d like to get inside the ring afterwards to be with the fighters, but he wants to be respectful of them. The 6’7” Wilder is hoping to face the Joshua-Klitschko winner in a unification fight in 2017 if possible.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) wants a unification fight this summer against WBA World lightweight champion Jorge Linares (42-3, 27 KOs) in the U.S. Garcia saw Linares put on a masterful performance last Saturday night in taking Anthony Crolla (31-6-3, 13 KOs) in their rematch in front of 13,000 boxing fans at the Manchester, Arena in Manchester, England. Linares looked great in the first 7 rounds of the fight.
By Gav Duthie: Jorge Linares is somewhat of an enigma, Venezuelan born, residing in Tokyo Japan and making a big name for himself in England in the last couple of years defeating two of their best lightweight talents in Kevin Mitchell and Anthony Crolla. His talent is also enigmatic. He arguably has the fastest hands in boxing, top 5 for sure, he is a 3-weight world champion but he has lost some strange fights in his career but he seems to have improved a lot. Just how good is he and what can he achieve?
Jorge Linares defended his WBA Lightweight World Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Crolla Saturday evening on SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL from Manchester, England. The win sets Linares up for a possible unification fight with WBC Lightweight World Champion Mikey Garcia, a matchup that would be considered one of the best that can be made in any weight class.
(Photo Courtesy: Lawrence Lustig/Matchroom Sport)
Saturday’s main event from Manchester Arena aired live on SHOWTIME. Live fight coverage was provided by Sky Sports with Adam Smith calling play-by-play and world champion Carl Froch serving as ringside analyst. Garcia joined SHOWTIME Sports host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paul Malignaggi to provide commentary from a New York studio.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBA World lightweight champion Jorge Linares (42-3, 27 KOs) put on a boxing clinic in defeating former WBA champion Anthony “Million Dollar” Crolla (31-6-3, 18 KOs) in what some fans saw as a pointless rematch at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The victory for the 31-year-old Linares earned him the WBC Diamond title and the Ring Magazine lightweight belt.