Devin Haney vs. Jorge Linares

Devin Haney vs. Jorge Linares
Date	May 29, 2021
Venue	Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBC lightweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer
Boxer	Devin Haney
Nickname	The Email Champion
Hometown	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Pre-fight record	25–0 (15 KOs)
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	135 lb (61 kg)
Style	Orthodox
Recognition	WBC lightweight champion
Result
	Haney wins via unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 115-113)

Devin Haney vs. Jorge Linares was a professional boxing match contested between WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney, and former three-division world champion Jorge Linares. The bout took place at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 29, 2021, with Haney's WBC title on the line.^[1]^[2] Haney won by unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 116-112, 116-112, 115-113 in his favor.^[3]

Background

After Haney's unanimous decision win over Cuban veteran Yuriorkis Gamboa,^[4] Haney called out fellow American lightweight and newly crowned unified lightweight world champion, Teófimo López, who had recently defeated pound-for-pound star Vasiliy Lomachenko^[5] three weeks prior, saying it was 'the main fight' he wanted to make happen.^[6] However, the IBF mandated López to fight Australian George Kambosos Jr,^[7] with López deciding to go in that direction to minimize the risk of being stripped of his title.

In January 2021, after Ryan Garcia captured the WBC interim lightweight title after his seventh-round stoppage over Luke Campbell,^[8] the WBC were set to order Haney to defend his title against García.^[9] However, García seemed to show little interest in a potential fight with Haney, and voiced his desire to face Gervonta Davis or Manny Pacquiao instead,^[10] ultimately fighting neither in the end.

After weeks of negotiations, it was announced that Haney was set to defend his WBC title against former three-division world champion Jorge Linares on May 29, 2021 in Las Vegas.^[11]

Fight card

Weight Class		vs.		Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Devin Haney (c)	def.	Jorge Linares	UD	12/12		^{Note 1}
Super lightweight	Chantelle Cameron (c)	def.	Melissa Hernandez	TKO	5/10	1:25	^{Note 2}
Super featherweight	Azinga Fuzile	def.	Martin Joseph Ward	TKO	7/12	2:45
Middleweight	Jason Quigley	def.	Shane Mosley Jr.	MD	10/10
Welterweight	Reshat Mati	def.	Ryan Pino	UD	6/6
Featherweight	Ramla Ali	def.	Mikayla Nepel	UD	6/6
Light heavyweight	Khalil Coe	def.	Nathaniel Tadd	TKO	2/4	1:10
Super welterweight	Amari Jones	def.	Jonathan Ryan Burrs	KO	1/4	2:56