Jorge Linares is adjusting to retirement by guiding the career of Cuba’s Yan Marcos.
The Venezuelan retired in October after what represented his fourth successive defeat – via decision against Jack Catterall in Liverpool.
That defeat marked the end of a near-21-year career in which he won world titles at featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight, the weight division in which he was once considered the finest in the world.
Linares’ peak years as a fighter came under the guidance of the respected Ismael Salas, and it is one of Salas’ compatriots – Linares was with the 23-year-old light middleweight Marcos in Las Vegas for Teofimo Lopez-Jamaine Ortiz – he hopes to guide to similar heights.
“Everything is good,” Linares, 38, told ProBox TV. “Retirement is good. Right now, I’m super busy with boxer Yan Marcos. Life is very good, I get to spend a lot of time with my family and my wife.
“I’m very good friends with Ortiz and Marcos has been here for training camp over the last three weeks. We don’t have a fight date yet for him, but we wanted to get some experience with a bit of sparring in Las Vegas with all types of boxers. Vegas is the best place for boxing.
“Then soon we will head back home to Miami and then we go up to Orlando for a little bit of training there. I’m hoping I can make a fight for him in March or April – that’s the plan.”
Countless fighters struggle with retirement, but Linares is determined not to return to the ring.
“I’m happy like this right now,” he continued. “I’m definitely not coming out of retirement.
“I do want to enjoy retirement and see my family. Maybe I could do something like an exhibition fight, or something like that just for enjoyment, but I definitely don’t want to have another professional boxing match.
“I’m happy here in the US living in Miami, but I still travel around a lot. I always like to come to Vegas, it’s the best for boxing.”
