WBC Lightweight Title Defense
Last night’s Matchroom/DAZN Main Event at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, between WBC Lightweight Champion Devin Haney (26-0, 15 Kos) and Jorge Linares (47-6, 29 Kos) was an intriguing bout that definitely lived up to the hype. Real Talk!
Straight from the jump Devin knew he had himself a real test inside that squared circle and did not wait for his opponent to warm up. Devin applied some serious pressure with a stiff jab that had Linares puzzled at first unable to counter Devin’s steady offence.
Devin surprisingly went blow for blow with the savvy veteran which was quite entertaining. As the rounds progressed Linares started to loosen up and performed exceptionally well, turning this bout into a serious scrap withstanding and administering heavy shots of his own. Linares looked good last night and showed that he still got the goods to go rounds with the best of them in the Division.
That being said, Devin got a little careless exchanging blows with the veteran and got caught with a heavy clean shot in the 10th round that had him on shaky legs near the end of the round.
Although Devin survived the round, Linares was picking up momentum in the 11th round but was unable to finish off Devin who was holding on for the most part of the round clearly still on shaky legs.
In the 12th and final round, Devin still looked a little shook from the two previous rounds but proceeded to box and move for the remainder of the round instead of staying in the pocket with the still fresh and aggressive looking Linares.
Devin needed a bout like this where he had to dig deep when adversity presented itself inside that squared circle. After 12 full rounds of action the Judges scored it unanimously 116-112, 116-112, 115-113 for Devin Haney who successfully retained his WBC Lightweight Title.
Great performance Champ now on to the next.
Blaze