Jorge Linares held on to his WBA lightweight title, at the Manchester Arena on Saturday night, with a comprehensive points victory over Anthony Crolla.
In the build up to the fight it was intimated that Crolla would have to box out of his skin to beat the Venezuelan who ripped the title form him the last time they met.
But, throughout the twelve rounds, it was Linares that was in total control and when the bell was sounded for the end of the fight, Crolla could have no arguments with all three judges scoring the bout 118-109.
Roared on by a crowd of 15,000 spectators inside the arena, Crolla was never able to get close enough to the champion and found himself on the seat of his pants, in the seventh round, courtesy of a brilliant uppercut.
Crolla was never going to give in though, but even when he did have some success with a flurry of punches the champions responded with a flurry of his own.
Linares just had too much for Crolla, fighting with a ferocity, when needed, to quell Crolla?s enthusiasm whilst also showing his pedigree and the experience gained from becoming a world champion at 21-years-of-age.
For Linares there is the prospect of a big pay-day in the US whilst Crolla will be left to rebuild a career that has been something akin to a rollercoaster.
Crolla Soundly Beaten by Linares
