According to a report from The Evening Times, Ricky Burns and Jorge Linares will face each other later this year in a lightweight title eliminator.
The two boxers, per the report, would be competing for the opportunity to become the mandatory challenger for the WBA title. The fight would take place at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on September 7.
The report, however, failed to mention whether or not the winner would be the mandatory challenger for the WBA “Super” title that Vasiliy Lomachenko has or for the WBA “Regular” title, which is currently vacant.
Linares, a former WBA lightweight champion, lost his belt to Lomachenko back in May 2018. Afterwards, Linares looked to campaign at junior welterweight, but after a win over Abner Cotto last September, Linares was shockingly stopped by Pablo Cesar Cano this past January in New York. Since that loss, Linares considered a move back down to lightweight and is currently ranked No. 10 by the WBA at lightweight.
Burns has won two straight fights since consecutive losses to Julius Indongo and Anthony Crolla back in 2017. The 36-year-old Burns has won world titles at super featherweight, lightweight and junior welterweight.
Also set to fight on the card are prospects Charlie Flynn and Joe Ham competing on the card. Flynn, unbeaten with a 10-0-2 record, has not fought since a fourth-round technical draw against Ryan Colling back in March 2018. Ham, sporting a 16-1 pro record, has won two straight since a 10-round decision loss to Tyrone Mcullagh in June 2018.
