ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker may have inherited his nickname 'Hands of Stone' from its original bearer, boxing legend Roberto Duran. Lineker's boxing is head-and-shoulders above most fighters in MMA, and we're not just talking about his knockout power in both hands.
In a recent Instagram video posted by ONE Championship, we saw 'Hands of Stone' showing off his boxing skills in the gym. This is in preparation for his upcoming world title bout with Fabricio Andrade at ONE on Prime Video 3.
Watch the video here:
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"John Lineker defends his bantamweight strap on October 21 against surging phenom Fabricio Andrade at ONE on Prime Video 3! 👑 @johnlinekermma"
What a beautiful display of distance management and head movement. Lineker echoed the great Rocky Marciano by stepping forward to get inside and then ripped to the body with a crushing right hook. He immediately followed it up with a lead overhand right to his opponent's head.
After which, he avoided his opponent's punches up-close with brilliant head movement like Mike Tyson. It's the hardest thing to do in boxing; to make your opponent miss. John Lineker just made it look so easy. Putting that on top of his explosive hands, the ONE bantamweight world champion will be utterly unstoppable.
John Lineker claims that he only needs one punch to KO Fabricio Andrade
During ONE's virtual press conference for ONE on Prime Video 3, John Lineker made some bold statements ahead of his world title fight against Fabrio Andrade. Apparently, the hard-hitting bantamweight king knows that he only needs one punch to knock his outspoken rival out.
'Hands of Stone' said:
"This is like football. You only need one goal to win. Just like I only need one punch to win. It’s very nice for [Andrade] to dream about turning me into a wrestler. But I’m ready for him. I have over 50 fights, I’ve never been KO’d."
The thing is, he might be right. Lineker has been putting world-class fighters away with single blows. What's even more remarkable is that 'Hands of Stone' has never been truly hurt or knocked out. His iron chin allows him to just walk forward and blast his opponents with fight-ending strikes.
Considering the boxing skills he's been honing ahead of ONE on Prime Video 3, expect Lineker to land his killing blows with a wider arsenal on October 21.