Jorge Linares looking to halt Devin Haney’s rise to the top

In July 2007, Jorge Linares walked into what was then the Mandalay Bay Events Center and knocked out Oscar Larios to win his first world title belt. Devin Haney was eight years old.

On Saturday night, Linares will step into that same ring again looking to walk away with another world title belt. This time his opponent is Haney, one of boxing’s brightest young stars. The fight will headline a DAZN card from Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.

“I have a lot of experience and that’s the most important thing … to win the fight,” Linares said. “He doesn’t have that. He has talent, he has youth and hunger, and the belt.”

Linares, 35, has won world titles in three weight divisions, from 126 pounds to 135 pounds. After an ill-fated move up to 140 pounds ended with a first-round knockout at the hands of Pablo Cesar Cano, he’s won two straight.

“Jorge has been the underdog, has been up, has been down, but shows one thing – he knows how to get up,” Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Robert Diaz said. “This is a tremendous fight.”

Linares went undefeated during a six-year stretch from 2012 to 2018. It ended with a knockout loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko in an all-action fight that was razor thin on the scorecards entering the 10th round. In that stretch, he notched impressive wins over the likes of Luke Campbell, Anthony Crolla and Kevin Mitchell.

But the loss to Cano followed soon after, and it’s fair to wonder what the veteran has left in the tank as he enters the final stage of his career. He has a penchant for engaging in exciting fights, but he’s also been knocked out in every one of his losses.

“If he wants to fight inside, I am ready for him,” Linares said. “He’s going to have big problems on Saturday night. He knows I can do everything, and he knows I have the timing to put him down.”

Haney (25-0, 15 KOs) is undoubtedly won of the best young fighters in boxing. But as he’s worked his way up, he’s never faced a fighter as skilled and battle-tested as Linares.

Linares said he actually trained with Haney, 22, a long time ago in Las Vegas. He knows he’ll enter this fight as the underdog, but he’s up for the challenge.

“I just think about myself and what I need to do, not what he says or does,” Linares said. “I don’t like to talk too much, I don’t need to talk to get fans or followers or anything. I just need to go out and do my job and put on a great fight.”

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.