Vasyl Lomachenko Lands Brutal Body Blow To Make History Against Jorge Linares

Vasyl Lomachenko survived a knockdown to beat Jorge Linares and become the quickest three weight champion in history.

The Ukranian stopped Linares with a brutal left hook to the liver in what was a classic contest.

The two time Olympic champion has now claimed a third world title in just 12 professional bouts, the quickest boxer to do so in history.

This was despite being put down in the sixth round by his classy Venezualan opponent. The fight, took place in Madison Square Garden in front of a packed auditorium, was going the way of Linares until the brutal body blow by Lomachenko which stopped him in his tracks.

Linares wanted to continue but the referee stopped the fight, Lomachenko's first at lightweight. A rematch is now very much on the cards.

Linares will have been familiar to British fans having beaten Anthony Crolla twice last year, but Lomachenko's stock is rapidly rising in the professional ranks and this was a whole different kettle of fish for the Venezuelan.

Despite on 12 professional bouts, Lomachenko has bags of experience. An amateur record of 396 wins and one defeat is testament to that, plus two amateur champion titles and two Olympic gold medals! The Ukrainian won his first professional world title after just three fights and has now become a three-weight world champion after just 12.

Speaking of Linares, Lomachenko said, "He's a great fighter and he gave me one more lesson in boxing", it was a stunning reaction to being sent to the canvas himself in the sixth round and we look forward to seeing his next fight, probably against Linares again.