“This is the new era of Gervonta [Davis], it’s the prime time of him,” Linares told YSM Sports Media. “For me, he’s the most amazing boxer for a long time at 135 and 140 [pounds]. [Vasiliy] Lomachenko is a great fighter, amazing guy, amazing boxer. I fought with him, but it’s different. It’s a different time. Maybe four years ago, it would be 50/50. Now I believe Gervonta – we will see in that moment – maybe TKO, maybe some crazy KO. You know Gervonta is the guy who maybe wants to do the same plan as he did in the last fight [against Frank Martin]. Keep waiting and waiting. You know he received a couple of punches that night, but what happened after the sixth or seventh round? He waited for the moment, and he killed the guy. So maybe we can see the same situation with Lomachenko.”
Another of Davis’ title rivals is WBC belt holder Shakur Stevenson, who has recently been calling for a fight with both Davis and Lomachenko, with no success. Stevenson, in search of bigger fights, recently cut ties with long-time promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank. But Linares believes that an encounter with Davis would not end well for Stevenson.
“If Gervonta is fighting with Shakur [Stevenson], it’s more of an easy fight,” Linares said. “I like Shakur, but he has so many crazy things right now. For me, it’s more exciting to see Lomachenko with Gervonta. If that fight happens with Shakur, it’s easy. With Shakur, [Davis] can do whatever he wants to do – maybe decision, maybe KO. If that fight with Shakur can happen, I think Gervonta can kill this guy.”
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