Garza Defeats Linares on Fifth-Round Technical Knockout
- Share via
It was like stalking a small animal in a box. If the referee hadn’t stopped the fight, the ASPCA might have showed up.
Jaime Garza of Pacoima continued his comeback from oblivion Wednesday night with a thorough beating of Mexico City’s Carlos Linares beneath a wing of the Spruce Goose in Long Beach in a featherweight fight stopped 25 seconds into the fifth round.
Garza, the former World Boxing Council super-bantamweight champion, had been scheduled to face Darryl Thigpen, who withdrew after injuring his back in a car accident.
Linares was brought in as a replacement. He has a decent reputation and had gone the distance in three previous bouts this year. But against Garza, the Mexican boxer was simply outclassed.
Linares (24-13 with 21 knockouts) stumbled and pawed his way through the fight as Garza scored on virtually every punch.
“I hurt this guy in the first round, but I didn’t go wild,” said Garza, who improved to 44-1 with 42 knockouts.
Self-control has been a theme for Garza. In 1984, he lost his WBC title when Juan (Kid) Meza knocked him out in the first round. Garza, 24, went into self-imposed exile for 1 1/2 years after that fight, but is now on the comeback trail.
Wednesday, that comeback trail ran over Carlos Linares’ face.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
