Lost in the drama of Chad Dawson?s bizarre 2nd round TKO over Bernard Hopkins last night in Los Angeles was an excellent lightweight affair between Antonio DeMarco and former champion Jorge Linares. And while Linares would produce a stirring performance, a nasty gut on his nose and an onrushing attack from DeMarco would eventually spell his doom.
Linares had teamed up with trainer Freddie Roach for this bout, even training alongside prized pupil Manny Pacquiao in the Philippines, and said how he wanted to dedicate the WBC belt was going to win to Freddie, the Wild Card, and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza. Linares was well ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage but DeMarco?s punches simply began taking too big of a toll and his bloody mask of a face appeared to be causing him trouble as well.
All in all, another heartbreaker for the Venezuelan but he can still hold his head high.
For images of the harrowing, bloody, and dramatic DeMarco-Linares bout, please visit the slideshow on the left. Included in the mix are bonus pictures from the Hopkins-Dawson event?
