Linares vs Crolla II

Who won Linares vs Crolla II?

Jorge Linares beat Anthony Crolla by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday, March 25th, 2017, at Manchester Arena, Manchester.

The scorecards were announced as 118-109, 118-109, 118-109 in favor of winner Jorge Linares.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 kg).

This contest was for the unified lightweight championship of the world, with the WBA, and The Ring belts on the line.

Linares vs Crolla II stats

Back in March 2017, Jorge Linares stepped into the ring with a record of 41 wins, 3 losses, and 0  draws, 27 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Anthony Crolla made his way to the ring with a record of 31 wins, 5 losses and 3 draws, with 13 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Linares had a large advantage in power over Crolla, boasting a 66% knockout percentage compared to Crolla's 42%.

Jorge Linares was the older man by 1 year, at 32 years old.

Crolla had a height advantage of 1 inch over Linares. Despite this, he had a 2-inch reach advantage.

Both Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla fought out of an orthodox stance.

Linares was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 5 more fights, and made his debut in 2002, 3 years and 9 months earlier than Crolla, whose first professional fight was in 2006. He had fought 77 more professional rounds, totaling 366 compared to Crolla's 289.

Anthony Crolla was ranked number 4 by the WBA, and 8 by the WBC in the 135lb division.

Linares vs Crolla II form

Linares had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 4 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Anthony Crolla on September 24, 2016, by unanimous decision in their WBA World Lightweight and The Ring Lightweight championship fight at Manchester Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had defeated Ivan Cano on October 10, 2015, by knockout in the 4th round in their WBC World Lightweight championship fight at El Poliedro, Caracas, Venezuela.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Kevin Mitchell on May 30, 2015, by technical knockout in the 10th round in their WBC World Lightweight championship fight at The O2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had won against Javier Prieto on December 30, 2014, by knockout in the 4th round in their WBC World Lightweight championship fight at Metropolitan Gym, London, Japan.

He had beaten Ira Terry on August 16, 2014, by knockout in the 2nd round at StubHub Center, Carson, United States.

Crolla had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Jorge Linares on September 24, 2016, by unanimous decision in their WBA World Lightweight and The Ring Lightweight championship fight at Manchester Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had defeated Ismael Barroso on May 7, 2016, by knockout in the 7th round in their WBA World Lightweight championship fight at Manchester Arena, Manchester.

Going into that contest, he had won against Darleys Perez on November 21, 2015, by knockout in the 5th round in their WBA World Lightweight championship fight at Manchester Arena, Manchester.

Before that, he had drawn with Darleys Perez on July 18, 2015, by majority draw in their 12 round contest in their WBA World Lightweight championship fight at Manchester Arena, Manchester, United States.

He had defeated Gyorgy Mizsei Jr on November 15, 2014, by points in the 6th round at 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Anthony Crolla had been fighting more than Jorge Linares.

Going into this contest, Jorge Linares had last fought 6 months and 1 day ago, while Anthony Crolla's last outing had been 6 months and 1 day ago.

Linares' last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 7 months and 9 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 6 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 32 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.4 rounds on average.

Crolla's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 10 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 21 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 42 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.4 rounds on average.

What time did Linares vs Crolla II start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM GMT at Manchester Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom, which was 6:00 PM EST or 3:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America.

Who broadcast Linares vs Crolla II?

Linares vs Crolla II was broadcast on Sky Sports 1 in the UK, while the fight was broadcast in the United States by ShowTime.

What were the odds on Linares vs Crolla II?

Jorge Linares was a 12/25 (-210) favorite going into the contest, while Anthony Crolla made his way into the ring at 44/25 (+180) with oddsmakers.