Agree. His attitude definitely changed from round 1 to round 12. Haney looked much much faster and bigger and stronger. He went in there like the young phenom he's supposed to be and just started beating up the old man. Out quicking him, out positioning him, bullying him in the clinches and landing short punches on the inside and on the way out and just completely jabbing the **** out of the old, washed-up-lookin' (and yes Haney was making him look that way at least in part) Linares. After the first couple of rounds I didn't figure it would go too many more and Haney would just overwhelm Linares with crisp youth, speed and strength. But he couldn't get it done in the first 5 rds and then it started going sideways on him. Not that he didn't win most of the rounds (I thought the cards a bit generous), but after a certain point you knew he wasn't going to get a stoppage. It just wasn't gonna' happen. It's like he just gave up on his advantages because Linares wasn't gonna' go easy and just decided to coast for the pts win which he was likely to get in any case as the young up and comer. Tissue paper face and all Linares was gonna finish the fight. This ain't the first time Haney's looked like that to me. Props to Linares for taking the kid into deep waters and trying to drown him. Linares looks shopworn to me but retains his balls. Imo, Haney looks really flashy and baddass sometimes when he's motivated, but lacks resolve and killer instinct and might be packing glass. His purported rival, the headcase Ryan Garcia KOs him late. He wouldn't last 6 rounds with Teofimo. Loma wins a wide decision despite being a midget. Tank KOs him maybe faster than Lopez (again despite being a midget). Josh Taylor should call him out. Also Prograis.They both stand a good chance of raising their profile, imo, by derailing the hype train. I am disappoint.
Touching. Ali held all the time when he fought guys his own size. Bernard Hopkins held all the time because he didn't want to get hit. Tyson Fury holds all the time because he can't take a punch and he runs all the time for the same reason. So my point stands.
Haney got carried away. He dominated Lianres up to 10th round but was looking to blow him away rather than stick to his jab and controling the fight. Haney showed his inexpereince. In boxing you just need to win the rounds. Haney can out boxer anyone in his division if he uses his boxing brain and just goes for winning rounds rather than looking for the TKO and exposing himself. Needs someone like Mayweather in his team.
the guy ran straight at him with his arms outstretched to hug him, lets not try and turn it into something it isnt. accepting reality is part of growing up.
I do now. I usually never go into the comments on someone’s page, so I didn’t realize how bad it was.
I think a fair assessment of the fight is in line with the below: - Fantastic boxing from Haney early. He was slick, moved well, and made a former champion look well beyond his prime. Although that may be the case, Haney really did make Linares look ordinary. - The jab - Haney's jab was brilliant. I love seeing a young gun stick to the basics against a quality veteran. His jab for the first 6 rounds was a thing of beauty. A real throwback to when it was instilled in fighters. - Although Haney was able to tee off on Linares with pretty much everything he threw, there was not a single punch that hurt Linares. This is quite surprising, even if Haney isn't a big puncher. Linares doesn't have a granite chin by any means, and on his way out, this should have been doable. Feather fisted or not. - When Haney was caught at the end of the 10th, he froze. His whole body went out, AJ'esq. In the RBR you'll see I said he was out on his feet. His actions in the corner only confirmed that which resulted in him being a zombie for the next 3 minutes straight. It was frustrating that Linares didn't have it in him to capitalize, as it would have been incredibly humbling for Haney. - Haneys chin is sound, not bad by any stretch, but definitely not great. The shots he wore were big, lets not forget that Linares is a great puncher. However, the biggest eye-opener was Haney's recovery - it was terrible. As above, it reminded me of when AJ was first knocked down by Ruiz. When he was in the corner you could see the cloud in his eyes, the fake smile was nothing more than a cover for how he was feeling. That became glaringly obvious once the round started. His feet weren't there, his head didn't move with his body, he offered little to no offence and his guard was very easy to penetrate. This is a concern moving forward, as any live dog in the division would have taken advantage of the 2 minutes that Linares struggled to make the most of. Haney was there for the taking. I won't discredit the last round, as it's been talked about enough already. It was the icing on the cake for Lopez, Lomachenko and the likes though.
Solid response. I noted early that although Haney was landing often and landing hard, Linares was sneaking in good shots. Linares started respecting Haney less and less and just flat out started exchanging with him late in the fight. Crazy that Haney couldn't dent Linares. Again, Haney landed good stuff, but nothing that even remotely wobbled Linares. Linares landed an uppercut and a straight right that shook Haney. Haney looked good until he didn't. C- performance considering whom he is purported to be, whom he was up against, and how he finished the fight.
