Devin Miles Haney vs. Jorge Luis Linares Palencia

Saturday at Michelob Ultra Arena. WBC lightweight title at stake, Haney's second defense after being promoted from interim champion status. Linares - who previously held this same belt from 2014 until 2016 - is ranked WBC #4.

 

Heartening to see all these sensible picks. I was anticipating hordes of "Haney by stoppage" picks with everyone harping on poor old Jorge's known whisker deficiencies and Haney being viewed as some blue chip prospect a`la Kingry or Davis. The difference is, compared to both of them Haney can't punch worth a damn. Case in point: the last three guys to go the distance with him are chinny as hell (not to mention blown up and shot to bits) Gamboa, Santiago (who just got kayoed by Tank Davis blowout victim Ricardo 'El Científico' Núñez last week in Panama City), and Ndongeni (who in his subsequent loss was knocked out by countryman Sibusiso Prince Dlomo, a journeyman with just 5 stoppages in 24 bouts, ten of them losses).

Now, don't get me wrong - Haney, with his speed, precision, and volume, could of course stop Linares, whose accursed punch resistance is indeed the one thing that always held him back from reaching greatness. But don't bet the farm on it. The smart money is still Haney by UD. Jorge has been stopped by lesser fighters than Devin, but never a lesser puncher IMO (in fact far harder hitters, all).

 

And not to put too fine a point on it nor flog a dead horse (neither any other synonymous cliché you can think of ) but Linares went twelve in the relatively near past against both Campbell and Gesta, each of whom can whack at least as hard as Haney.

 

Becoming a 5x world champion - in three divisions, and this would make thrice at lightweight alone - would be a huge accomplishment, making a firm argument for Linares having achieved greatness in spite of all those ignominious and momentum-arresting stoppage losses (making him the perseverant rising phoenix sort of fighter that Amir Khan always fancied himself to be) ...and it would be only his second time, after Crolla I, actually defeating an incumbent champion to gain a belt instead of benefitting from a vacancy.

On a more personal note, it would tickle me absolutely Stuart Semple Pinkest Pink™, because Linares is a class act - and I'm sick of the Haney hype. Doubly whammy.

 

True but only a few years - and we don't yet know whether Haney is more durable than Loma. We do know that his defensive skill, while pretty good, isn't Matrix level.