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| Date | May 29, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBC lightweight title | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Haney wins via unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 115-113) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Devin Haney vs. Jorge Linares was a professional boxing match contested on May 29, 2021, for the WBC lightweight championship. The bout took place at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. [1] [2]
After Haney's unanimous decision win over Cuban veteran Yuriorkis Gamboa, [3] 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 [4] three weeks prior, saying it was 'the main fight' he wanted to make happen. [5] However, the IBF mandated López to fight Australian George Kambosos Jr, [6] 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, [7] the WBC were set to order Haney to defend his title against García. [8] 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, [9] 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. [10]
Haney controlled the action for most of the fight, but was hurt when Linares caught him with a powerful right-left combination toward the end of the tenth round. Haney survived the final two rounds largely by tying Linares up and negating his opponent's attempts at trying to engage with him.
The crowd voiced their displeasure with what they perceived as excessive clinching by booing Haney when he jumped up on the ropes in celebration immediately after the final bell, as well as booing during the announcement of the official decision.
Haney won by unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 116-112, 116-112, 115-113 in his favor. [11]
Confirmed bouts: [12]
| 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 |
^Note 1 For WBC lightweight title
^Note 2 For WBC female super lightweight title