Vasyl Lomachenko stopped Jorge Linares in the 10th round on Saturday to claim the World Boxing Association lightweight world title and a slice of boxing history at Madison Square Garden. Ukraine's Lomachenko survived a sixth-round knock-down to set a record in claiming a world title in a third weight division in just his 12th professional fight.
Lomachenko finished off the tightly contested bout with a fierce burst in the 10th, capped by a vicious left to the body that sent Linares down. "I prepared for the last few rounds, and my father told me, 'You need to go to the body,'" Lomachenko said.
Venezuela's Linares slowly got to his feet, but referee Ricky Gonzalez waved it off at 2:08 of the 10th to give Lomachenko a victory by technical knockout that ended Linares' 13-fight winning streak. Linares said he thought he could have continued and would be eager for a rematch.