SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL^® Airs Live at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England

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Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla held a final press conference on Thursday in Manchester, England, for their rematch this Saturday for the WBA Lightweight World Championship, live on SHOWTIME (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) from Manchester Arena.

Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) dethroned Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) in a close, back-and-forth battle last September in Manchester to capture the WBA crown.  The Sept. 24 match was the first time the three-division titlist Linares was pushed the 12-round distance in his nine career world title fights.

Crolla has had success in immediate rematches.  In 2015, he challenged Darley Perez for the WBA Lightweight Title and fought to a draw.  Four months later, he knocked out Perez in five rounds to win the 135-pound title.

WBC Lightweight World Champion Mikey Garcia will join the SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL announce team as a guest analyst alongside host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi.

Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs), who won the WBC belt in emphatic fashion this January on SHOWTIME, may be scouting his future opponent – the WBC has mandated that the winner of Linares-Crolla II must face Garcia.

Here’s what the fighters had to say at Thursday’s press conference:

JORGE LINARES:

“I know once again I have everyone against me in his backyard, but that’s why I trained hard.

“I’m not coming in here feeling like the champion.  I’m coming in here feeling like the challenger because I know I have to win very clear to go back home with a win.

“It’s going to be a different Crolla this time.  I have to perform like I know I can to defend my belts.

“I had a great camp.  I’m anxious.  I can’t wait to show you on Saturday night, put it all together and return home with my belts.”

ANTHONY CROLLA:

“I’ve always been better going in as the underdog.  I know on Saturday night I’m going to need to be the very best Anthony Crolla to beat Jorge Linares.  I really believe that if I show the improvements that I’ve made in the gym then I’ll get my belt back.

“I hope he comes in looking for the knockout.  If Jorge comes looking for the knockout he breaks away from what he’s best at.  And, if he does so, I believe it falls right into my hands.

“I’ve got to be cutting off the ring quicker this time.  I’ve got to respond in bunches a little bit more.  There are so many obstacles that are going to be put in front of me from Jorge Linares, but I believe I will have an answer for every one of them.

“It was one of the fights of the year last time.  I can certainly see us both being even better this time.

“There’s a lot of people out there who think there is no way I can beat Jorge Linares, but I believe on Saturday night I’ll prove an awful lot of people wrong.”

SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL^® Airs Live at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England

Watch The Full First Fight On SHO Sports YouTube Channel: http://s.sho.com/2m1x6TV

Click HERE For Photos; Credit Lawrence Lustig/Matchroom

WBA Lightweight World Champion Jorge Linares and former champion Anthony Crolla participated in a public workout at National Football Museum in Manchester, England on Tuesday in preparation for their rematch this Saturday, live on SHOWTIME (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) from Manchester Arena.

Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) dethroned Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) in an action-packed battle last September in Manchester to capture the WBA crown.  Crolla and Linares were neck-and-neck going into the sixth round until Linares rocked the hometown favorite with a series of shots that galvanized the Venezuelan toward a close 115-114, 115-113 and 117-111 unanimous decision.

The Sept. 24 match was the first time the three-division titlist Linares, who also holds the WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine lightweight belts, was pushed the 12-round distance in his career.

The WBC has mandated that the winner of Linares-Crolla II must face undefeated WBC Lightweight Champion Mikey Garcia, who will join host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi in New York for the SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL presentation.

Below are fight week quotes from Linares and Crolla:

JORGE LINARES:

“Crolla could come better prepared than last time.  Maybe he will throw more punches, maybe he will box more, I don’t really know. The most important thing is I hope he has worked really hard and comes in great condition so there are no excuses and no doubts after the fight.

“I can fight even better this time.  Before the first fight I had a broken right hand and I hadn’t fought for a while. That’s always a factor, you know?   Inactivity.  I haven’t had any issues physically or mentally, so the preparation has been great.  We did 129 rounds of sparring and everything has gone well up to this point.

“I know he has been quiet in the build-up, I don’t mind if he hasn’t spoken much lately.  Let’s just hope it’s a clean fight like the first one.”

“The plans are in the future to get the biggest fights.  Obviously the priority right now is to stay focused on Saturday but then I’ll look towards the big fights like against Mikey Garcia.

“I really think coming to train with Ismael Salas made the difference.  It’s what helped me really establish myself as a professional fighter and to gain more experience.  We learn ‘old school’ as Salas always says.  It really has worked well for me in the two years I’ve been with him.”

“I feel really good because this time we had a lot more time to prepare.  We did some of the training camp in Japan and then eight weeks in Las Vegas.

“I’m happy to be back here in England again and have another opportunity.  I get treated very well, I feel comfortable fighting here.  The fans here have a lot of boxing knowledge and they know me well.  It’s nice, I feel at home.”

ANTHONY CROLLA:

“It will be another good fight, that’s for sure.  Our styles gel really well and I don’t see how it can’t be another good fight, but this time I see a different winner.  The key will be adapting.  I might need to adapt a number of times in the fight but it is something I have trained for.

“I learned a lot from that fight.  Linares has very good speed, very good ring craft and he used his big fight experience for when to take a rest, when to turn it on for the judges.

“This time I know I need to deal with the flashy combinations better, cut the ring off better and capitalize when he is open for shots.

“He has said he will come with another game plan but so will we.  Last time I gave it everything, left it all in the ring, but I came up short.  The right man won on the night and now I have a second chance at winning back the belt and beating a great fighter.

“I was disappointed I lost – you should never be happy with losing – but I was satisfied I gave everything on the night.  When I watched it again there were things in the fight where I thought, ‘why didn’t I do this, why didn’t I do that’, but that is what I did do in the heat of the battle.

“You see people online saying Linares is a level above and that he outclassed me – he obviously didn’t outclass me because two of the judges only had a point in it.  The right man won and now I need to show my improvements and make sure the result is different.

“Last time out in Manchester I lost a close fight but with the improvements I have been making in the gym I believe this time it will be a different result.

“The rematch was always top of my list.  Linares is top of the pile in the lightweight division and if there was a chance of having a rematch that was always more important to me than any other fight.  I want to fight the best and be involved in the big fights and that’s what this is.

“I want the chance to stake my claim as the best lightweight in the world by going out there and beating him.

“I wasn’t going to turn down a rematch to try and ease myself back into title contention.  I want these big fights; these big nights in Manchester are what I thrive on.

“I feel better than I have ever felt.  Camp has gone really well and there will certainly be no excuses.  I have had no distractions outside of camp and everything is good.  It is a matter now of showing in the ring tonight the improvements I have been showing in the gym.

“I have had no social life for the past few months and I will walk to the ring knowing that, knowing I have prepared in the best way I possibly can. There will be no ‘what if I had done this’, ‘what if I had done that’ – I have prepared the best I possibly can.”

Winner of Linares-Crolla II Becomes Mandatory Challenger For Garcia’s WBC 135-Pound Crown

SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL^® Airs Live At 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on SHOWTIME

Click on the Link Below to Watch a Mikey Garcia Feature Video Recapping his Last Fight

YOUTUBE: http://s.sho.com/2ml37GG

Photo Credit: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME

NEW YORK (March 20, 2017) – WBC Lightweight World Champion Mikey Garcia will join the SHOWTIME announce team as a guest analyst for the rematch between WBA Lightweight World Champion Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla on Saturday, March 25 live on SHOWTIME at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Three-division world champion Garcia, (36-0, 30 KOs), will join host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi in New York for the SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL^® presentation of Crolla vs. Linares II, which will air live from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

“I’m excited to participate as guest analyst for this rematch,” said Garcia. “These are two of the most competitive boxers in my division. Jorge Linares won the first fight, but Crolla can create a different outcome.

“Linares has good hand speed, timing, reflexes and has power in both hands. Crolla has a good right hand and has shown some solid body work in his recent fights. While Crolla is getting better with each fight, Linares is likely still the better boxer, and should edge him out in a close fight.”

Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) dethroned Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) in a thrilling battle last fall in Manchester to capture the WBA crown. The Sept. 24 match was the first time the three-division titlist Linares, who also holds the WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine lightweight belts, was pushed the 12-round distance in his career.

The WBC has mandated that the winner of Linares-Crolla II must face the hard-hitting Garcia, who knocked out defending champion Dejan Zlaticanin on Jan. 28 on SHOWTIME in just his second fight back following a 30-month layoff.

Linares-Crolla II is the second lightweight world title bout on SHOWTIME in 2017 and an important fight toward potentially unifying the resurgent 135-pound division.