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After his win over Nihito Arakawa in a WBC Lightweight title eliminator earlier this year, Venezuelan boxer Jorge Linares (38-3, 25 KOs) told Round by Round Boxing that a fight with former WBC Lightweight champion Omar Figueroa might be in his future.
Instead, after knocking out Ira Terry in August and after Figueroa was stripped of his title following an injury suffered during his defense against Daniel Estrada that same night, Linares, 29, earned a chance at a world title in a third division on Tuesday.
The former Featherweight and Super Featherweight titlist knocked out Javier Prieto (24-8-2, 18 KOs) in the fourth round of a scheduled 12-round fight to win the WBC strap at the Metropolitan Gym in Tokyo, Japan, the city where the expatriate calls his home.
The fight was on a card that also featured title wins by Naoya Inoue and Pedro Guevara and which was promoted by Ohashi Promotions.
“I was able to have great practices this time,” Linares told JapanTimes.com, “I was able to go just as I was practicing at the gym.”
Linares has had some setbacks in his career, including losses to Sergio Thompson and Antonio DeMarco in 2011 and 2012.
Since then, however, Linares has remained undefeated and is among a list of titleholder in his division that includes Mickey Bey and Richard Abril.
