Underdogs are common in every sport. For Pablo Cesar Cano (31-7-1, 21 KOs) that is a position he is all too familiar with. Come January 18 he will once again be a heavy underdog when he steps in to the ring with Jorge Linares (45-4, 28 KOs).
The match has been sanctioned as a WBC eliminator. The winner will be getting a shot at Top Rank‘s undefeated Jose Ramirez and his Super Lightweight title.
Linares is the favorite and rightfully so. A future showdown with Ramirez is tantalizing and one that many are hoping for, but Cano has major plans of derailing that fight.
Few are giving the 29-year-old Cano any chance of pulling off this upset, but that doesn’t bother him. All it does is give him more motivation.
“I’m very motivated for this fight. I’m training really hard for this fight to leave everything that I have in the ring,” said Cano during a phone interview with Round By Round Boxing that was translated by Gabriel Rivas.
Just how difficult is the task ahead for Cano?
Linares is a multiple-division champion. He is also on many pound-for-pound lists. The consensus No. 1 on that list is current Lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko who has looked virtually unbeatable throughout his career. Linares gave Lomachenko his toughest bout to date.
Flooring him in the sixth round and at times outboxing him before he was ultimately stopped in the 10th round. Linares bounced back with a dominant third-round knockout win over Abner Cotto.
Linares also has impressive wins over Luke Campbell, Kevin Mitchell, Anthony Crolla and many others. So once again, just how difficult is the task ahead for Cano?
It will be a monumental one.
For almost anyone else a matchup with Linares would present the toughest of their careers. However for Cano, Linares won’t rank anywhere near the top of his list in terms of who he’s fought.
Cano has faced a murderers row of boxers throughout his career. He has been matched with future Hall of Famers Shane Mosley and Erik Morales and has also shared the ring with multiple-time champion Paulie Malignaggi. So while Linares will be a difficult task it isn’t something that will phase Cano.
There are many things that Linares does well that Cano outlined that he has to be weary of.
“He’s fast and he is a very good boxer,” said Cano. “He also has power as well.”
Cano is no stranger to upsetting the apple cart. In 2013 he took down Ashley Theophane by split decision in a matchup he was given no chance to win.
In 2016 he defeated Mauricio Herrera in yet another match that he was given no shot at winning. It won’t be easy, but Cano has the experience and track record of causing yet another upset.
