25
Apr
2019
Lawrence Lustig
WBA Lightweight World Champion Jorge Linares and his British counterpart Anthony Crolla both weighed in at 134 ½ pounds for their lightweight title rematch on Saturday, March 25 at Manchester Arena live on SHOWTIME® (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT).
The SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL® presentation originates from New York City with WBC Lightweight World Champion Mikey Garcia serving as guest analyst alongside host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi.
Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) dethroned Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) in a close, back-and-forth battle last September in Manchester to capture the WBA crown. The Sept. 24 match was the first time the three-division titlist Linares was pushed the 12-round distance in his nine career world title fights.
Crolla has had success in immediate rematches. In 2015, he challenged Darley Perez for the WBA Lightweight Title and fought to a draw. Four months later, he knocked out Perez in five rounds to win the 135-pound title.