Jorge Linares moves to 140, faces Abner Cotto on September 29th

Jorge Linares is looking to conquer a fourth weight class.

The 33-year-old veteran, last seen falling to Vasyl Lomachenko in a fight that was even on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage, will make his 140-pound debut in Idaho next month against get-well foe Abner Cotto.

Linares (44-4, 27 KO) won his first title over a decade ago with a 10th-round knockout of Oscar Larios for the WBC featherweight belt. His longest reign saw him defend the sanctioning body’s lightweight belt six times, defeating the likes of Anthony Crolla and Luke Campbell before the aforementioned battle with Lomachenko.

Cotto (23-3, 12 KO) has lost in every step up he’s had, falling to Omar Figueroa (KO-1), Francisco Vargas (UD), and Javier Fortuna (KO-5). He’s here to lose to Linares, though the “Golden Boy’s” infamous fragility adds just an iota of intrigue.

With a good chunk of the super lightweight division tied up in the World Boxing Super Series, Linares’ path to a title isn’t clear. Jose Ramirez could be a target, although I’m not sure Linares’ name/danger ratio is high enough for Ramirez’s handlers to pull the trigger on it.