Jorge Linares was less concerned about his time away from the ring than with the possibility of facing anything less than a high-quality opponent upon his return.

Suffice to say, the former three-division titlist is content with what awaits him later this month.

Linares will challenge unbeaten WBC lightweight titlist Devin Haney (25-0, 15KOs) atop a May 29 DAZN show from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The bout comes more than 15 months than the last ring appearance for the 35-year-old titlist, who has not fought since last Valentine’s Day.

“I’m very happy with Golden Boy and my whole team coming together to get this opportunity for me,” Linares told BoxingScene.com. “I told them that I wanted to face a good fighter for my first fight in 2021. I didn’t want a [tune-up], I wanted a real challenge and got it. Golden Boy understood my needs and asked me to be patient. They worked hard to put this fight together with Haney. I’m very pleased with the chance to fight Devin Haney.”

Linares (47-5, 29KOs) has been out of the ring since a 4th round knockout of Carlos Morales last Feb. 14 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The fight served as the chief support of a show headlined by lightweight divisional rival Ryan Garcia, who knocked out Francisco Fonseca in the main event. The two fights were strategically placed with the intention of matching the two later that summer, only for the coronavirus pandemic to ruin those plans.

The infectious disease would affect Linares’ back-up plan as well. The Tokyo-based Venezuelan boxer was forced to withdraw from a planned lightweight clash with fellow contender Javier Fortuna last August after testing positive for COVID, with the recovery process coupled with travel restrictions keeping him out of the ring for the rest of the year.

Linares saw his name aligned with several potential fights in 2021, though was immediately on board when approached to once again challenge for a lightweight title. Haney looks to make the third defense of the WBC lightweight belt once held by Linares, who aims to become a three-time lightweight title claimant.

“This is the perfect fight for me,” insists Linares, whose previous title reign ended in a 10th round knockout loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko in their competitive May 2018 WBA title fight. “This is the type fight I've wanted for quite a while.

“I have to give credit to Devin Haney as well. He didn’t have to take this fight but he chose to defend his title against me. He’s young, undefeated, strong and has a very clean style. He reminds me a little bit of how I used to fight before changing my style a little bit as I got older. This is the perfect opportunity and I plan to do my best in the ring to become world champion once again.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox