Re-watching Loma-Linares

Linares is a special talent. His lack of power has always been his downfall.

 

Linares is very quick. Both in terms of pure speed with hands and feet and in terms of his reaction. Whenever Lomachenko pivoted Linares was right there with him which eliminated the advantage Lomachenko gains from this move. Linares also has a good habit of throwing rapid combinations which when you're dealing with a technically sound guy that is faster and bigger than you is TOUGH. Lomachenko also fought in a really stupid way given the advantages Linares had over him. But yeah, Linares is a lot better than people often give him credit for. I'm glad this fight turned out the way it did.

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/txmk3NB My article on the fight. Which I consider a modern classic, it reminds me of a Hearns vs Sugar Ray fight. High level skills, alternating periods of control and dominance. Big Drama Show.

 

Yeah it is a combination of stuff. Linares penetrating that good as frequently as he did was a result of his speed, ring iq AND awkwardness which is rare, and power. Linares was probably physically stronger in that match than in any of his previous bouts and I think he was ALREADY stronger than Lomachenko to begin with. That's what still bothers me about the way Lomachenko fought though. Loma knew this going in and still played the matchup that way. That's just not smart- especially when you possess all of the tools that Lomachenko does. I'm starting to consider Crawford the smarter fighter in the ring as a result of it, but I'm also not comfortable with that since Crawford hasn't fought anyone as good as Linares yet so we haven't seen how he would deal with that level of threat.

I didn't realize how close the matchup actually was until The Fight Journal did a breakdown on youtube. Up until that point I knew it would be tough but it didn't occur to me that Lomachenko could actually LOSE, you know? The way that fight went on a different night Linares could have legitimately beaten him. On another he could have illegitimately beaten him lol.

 

You misread that bro.

But yeah, so the thing with Lomachenko that a lot of people that discuss him don't seem to understand is that he doesn't lack power. He fights in a way that doesn't utilize his power in every situation. That just means that his goal isn't to have a lot of power. When he does choose to maximize his punching power, he CAN stop you. He is probably top 3 hardest punchers at 130 and his with his workrate and ring iq he can stop anyone. That's how I see it anyway. I could very well be wrong, but the results of his matches and the way he places his punches give me that information.

 

Okay, what are you talking about? Nothing he said so far is wrong or seemingly done to discredit Lomachenko. Is there a history here that I'm not aware of?

 

Are you being serious?

"
In slow motion, rewind, no sound...you know how we boxing fans do. I didn't quite notice it on fight night, but Lomachenko got hit a lot in this fight, and with several combos. He was even slightly staggered a few times, and of course, dropped. He definitely came through in the clutch, but he got hit more cleanly in that fight than all his others combined.

*still, that guy is dope as hell. His footwork is pure art."

"Yes, I'm noticing Loma's matrix **** didn't work as well on Linares as it did on other fighters. And yeah, it's true that Loma got hit more than he should have because of the way he fought. Then again, Linares caught him right through his guard a few times."

"His "downfall"? What do you mean? It hasn't been a detriment, yet. Nobody really walks through his punches either. A lot of his fights are strange. I haven't figured them out yet. I mean, I don't think he landed a single heavy blow on Rigo nor Walters, and they both quit. A few other guys, too. It seems as if he has that Mayweather underestimated power."

I think you're reaching man. What am I supposed to be looking at? Linares did give him his toughest fight. He did land combinations. He did punch through the guard. Lomachenko was staggered and dropped.

 

Lmfao, I guess De Marco is great??