Jorge Linares faces Abner Cotto on 9/29 on Facebook Watch

Boxingnews24.com

By Jim Dower: Former three division world champion Jorge Linares (44-4, 27 KOs) will be looking to rebound from his recent loss to Vasyl Lomachenko when he faces 31-year-old Abner Cotto (23-3, 12 KOs next month on September 29 at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. Linares vs. Cotto is the headliner fight on the card, which is still a work in progress.

The fight will take place at light welterweight. Linares has fought his career at 126, 130 and 135. Going up to 140 might be too big of a jump for Linares if he decides to stick it out in the weight class. Linares will have to prove himself capable of beating the likes of Regis Prograis, Jose Ramirez, Maurice Hooker, Alex Saucedo and Kiryl Relikh. Prograis figures to take over the 140 pound division and rule it with an iron thumb. That would be the guy for Linares to target it he wants to prove himself as the best in the light welterweight division right off the bat.

This should be a fairly easy fight for Linares, as Cotto has been beaten almost every time he’s stepped up against better competition during his nine-year pro career. The Puerto Rican Cotto has past losses to Javier Fortuna [KO 5], Francisco Vargas [UD 12] and Omar Figueroa Jr. [KO 1]. The biggest win of Cotto’s career is arguably his 10 round split decision victory over former world title challenger Jerry Belmontes in 2014. Cotto had the good fortune not to face Belmontes at the height of his career in 2011 and 2012 when he was still fighting at a high level. If Cotto had fought Belmontes at that time, he might have lost to him. Cotto did give Francisco Vargas problems in losing a close 10 round unanimous decision. Cotto gave Vargas a lot of problems, and this was when Vargas was still an unbeaten terror.

Linares vs. Cotto is scheduled for 12 rounds. The fight will be streamed on Facebook Watch in the United State. Also, it’ll be streamed worldwide on Golden Boy Fight Night Page. It’s a good opportunity for Linares to get some visibility with the hardcore boxing fans. The casual fans might not go to the trouble to see it. The type of fans that will go the extra yard to watch Linares fights on the internet are the hardcore variety.

Linares, 33, was stopped in the 10th round by Lomachenko on May 12. Linares gave it a good shot against the highly skilled Lomachenko, but eventually he was worn down by the high work rate from the Ukrainian and halted by a body shot in round 10. However, before getting knocked out, Linares dropped Lomachenko in round 6 when he got careless and walked into a right hand.

“I am coming back hungrier than ever to demonstrate to the world that I am still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” Linares said. “I want those big fights and the world has not seen the best of me.”

Linares has the popularity and the clout to get the bigger name in the 140 pound division to face him, but first he needs to make sure he doesn’t slip up and lose to Cotto. The 33-year-old Linares needs to beat Cotto and look good in doing so. Defeating him by a close decision won’t be good enough. It has to be an impressive stoppage or one-sided win for him to be taken seriously as a future major player in the 140 pound weight division. Linares’ chin problem could be a limiting factor for him to have success. Linares does well when he’s matched against lighter punchers like Anthony Crolla, Luke Campbell,

Marcito Gesta and Ira Terry. Linares also does well when facing crude sluggers like Kevin Mitchell. Before losing to Lomanchenko, Linares’ only career losses had come against hard punchers in Sergio Thompson, Antonio DeMarco and Juan Carlos Salgado. Linares learned from those losses, and he likely would have beaten all three of them with ease if he had fought them again. Linares kept getting better with each fight. His loss to Lomachenko is nothing for him to be ashamed of, as he gave him a lot of problems in losing the fight.

”With my new trainer and my team, we will demonstrate that I am more than capable in taking over this new super lightweight division against a notable opponent in Abner Cotto,” Linares said. This September 29, fans will see a determined Jorge Linares.”

It would be better for Linares to stay at lightweight than it would be for him to move up to 140, but you can’t blame him for wanting to move up in weight. If Linares stayed at 135, he would find himself phased out as a championship level fighter due to Lomachenko and Mikey Garcia dominating the division. It would be a waste of time for Linares to fight Lomachenko again because the Ukrainian clearly had his number last May. Mikey Garcia would be a major problem for Linares due to his punching power. However, I’m not sure that 140 is the right answer for Linares. Those guys hit harder than Lomachenko and Garcia, and they’re younger than he is. Linares might find himself in the same position he would be if he remained at 135.