210BoxingTV had the opportunity to chat with the legendary Jorge Linares ahead of the Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr. fight. The insightful Linares shared his thoughts on the match and his perspective on his career.
“Like a fan right now, I’m waiting for this fight. It has been a long time, more than four years. So I’m excited to be here at this amazing press conference,” Jorge gushes with anticipation, as thrilled as any real boxing fan would be.
According to Linares, both fighters have merits that make them worthy of admiration. “I like both of them so much. I followed them a long time ago. Crawford, I like him, and I think he’ll win the fight by decision, but we never know. Both of them are amazing fighters.”
Linares outlines the strengths of the two combatants, offering an expert perspective on what each brings to the ring. He believes the pros for Crawford lie in his agility and strategy. “He likes to move a little bit, to use his lead, to use the ring and everything like that. He has a good jab, good combinations.”
He contrasts this with Spence’s style, “Spencer is very dangerous when he’s in the short distance. We’ll see an amazing fight.”
On Spence’s advantages, Linares suggests that the key to victory lies in maintaining the fight’s tempo. “I think he needs to be in the shortest time. He has more possibility to make something nice fight, to be in danger and in a good position.”
Ultimately, Linares asserts that the match’s deciding factor would likely be the fighters’ condition and strategy. “The special thing in this fight is the training campaign, the strategy they want to make for both of them.”
Linares on His Career
We shift gears to discuss recent events concerning Linares himself. A video had circulated showing a tense interaction between Linares and Rolly Romero.
He dismisses the tension, saying, “I don’t care. Rolly is scared. He doesn’t like to be probably with me. He knows I’m in good shape, always training. He knows my career. I was a four-time world champion. He knows my level.”
He expresses his readiness to face any challenger, from Romero to Ryan Garcia. He underlines that he’s ready to take on anyone, whether at 135 or 140.
“I’m ready. I want to be ready with everyone at 135 or 140. We have so many options, JoJo Diaz, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Teofimo Lopez, George Kambosos Jr, Shakur Stevenson… I don’t have any problem with taking any fight with anyone.”
As for his fans, the seasoned fighter has a heartwarming message: “Thank you for the support for a long time ago, especially in Japan. I’m here in the United States again, working very hard in the boxing gym in Miami. I want to be ready for me to come back to the fight, to make a good fight, maybe in August or September.”
