Jorge Linares vs Ivan Cano

For the first time in his career, Jorge Linares defended a world championship before his own countrymen, returning to Venezuela after five years away to meet Mexico’s Ivan Cano at the Poliedro de Caracas. Linares entered with 39 victories and three defeats, having won the vacant WBC lightweight championship from Javier Prieto and defended it against Kevin Mitchell in London. Cano, 23-6-2, was making his first challenge for a world title after twice drawing with Prieto. The Mexican was regarded as durable, but he faced a champion who held marked advantages in hand speed, balance and variety of attack.

Cano began the first round behind his left jab and attempted to close the distance before Linares could establish his rhythm. Linares watched carefully, moving around the challenger and looking to place his right hand over Cano’s lead. The Mexican managed to land several right hands during the opening exchanges, but his work was less precise. Linares did not hurry. He used short combinations, stepped away from the return and began testing Cano’s body whenever the challenger came forward with his elbows raised.

The contest became more open in the second round. Cano advanced with greater determination, but his eagerness left gaps through the centre. Linares met him with straighter punches and was able to finish his combinations before moving out of range. Cano continued to press and occasionally reached the champion with the right, yet Linares was now controlling both the distance and the pace. His punches were shorter, and he varied the attack between the head and ribs rather than standing directly in front of the Mexican.

Linares increased the pressure in the third. Cano’s forward movement had slowed, and the champion began placing his feet before punching instead of giving ground. A hard left hook driven into the body, reported as landing around the liver, forced Cano to one knee. The challenger remained there while taking the count, plainly affected by the blow, but regained his feet and survived the remainder of the round. Linares stayed composed and did not waste punches in an attempt to force an immediate finish.

The champion went directly back to the body at the beginning of the fourth. Cano tried to hold his ground, but he was no longer moving freely and could not discourage Linares with his counters. Another left hook sank into the right side of the challenger’s body. Cano stepped backwards and went down once more, unable to recover before referee Len Koivisto completed the count. The knockout was recorded at 58 seconds of the fourth round. There had been no fouls and no dispute concerning the finish.

The victory raised Linares’s record to 40-3, with 27 knockouts, and completed the second defence of his WBC lightweight championship. Cano fell to 23-7-2 after finding that determination alone could not compensate for the champion’s superior timing and accuracy. Linares had required ten difficult rounds to overcome Mitchell in his previous defence; in Caracas, he settled the matter more methodically, first drawing Cano into mistakes and then ending the contest with two accurately placed body punches.

Linares was a great lightweight and a travelling champion. Look at the British opposition alone: Kevin Mitchell, Anthony Crolla twice, Luke Campbell and, finally, Jack Catterall. Every one of those contests took place in Britain. Apart from the Catterall fight, which came in Linares’s final professional appearance when his best years had long gone, he won them all. That tells you something about his temperament as well as his ability.

Ivan Cano was never in that class. He was tough and willing, but Linares could read him comfortably. The Venezuelan controlled the distance, made Cano reach and then brought the left hook underneath. The first body-shot knockdown in the third round weakened Cano; the second, 58 seconds into the fourth, finished him. It was accurate, disciplined work without any wasted effort.

Linares competed in 15 major world-title bouts and won championships in three weight divisions. His chin could betray him, and that prevents me from placing him among the truly elite champions, but technically he was first-class. Fast hands, lovely balance and excellent punch selection made him difficult to outbox. More importantly, he travelled repeatedly and proved himself in other men’s backyards. That deserves respect.