In one of the most shocking upsets of the year thus far, WBA super feather champ Jorge Linares was stopped in the first round by challenger Juan Carlos Salgado today at Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Both men came into the contest undefeated but Tokyo based Venezuelan Linares was a former WBC feather and current WBA super feather kingpin who had stopped his last six adversaries early and was expected to win big.

Mexico City based Salgado had turned away respectable competition such as Ivan Valle and Marcos Licona during his career but had not come close to facing a world class operator before this opportunity.

During the first round, Salgado caught Linares unaware with a full-blooded right hand that decked the champion. Linares was soon on his pants again after the next assault and while he beat the count, the Tokyo resident was declared to be in no shape to continue and the contest stopped at 1:13 of the frame. More...

Nicknamed "El Nino de Oro" or "Golden Boy", two division world champion Jorge Linares is perhaps the most underrated world champion in boxing.

That will change starting today, as the unbeaten Venezuelan phenom has inked a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions, who will co-promote Linares with Japanese based Teiken Promotions, the first step to making the 24-year-old a household name in the United States. More...

Last night at Plaza de Toros in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Jorge Linares kept busy with a WBA super feather title defense against challenger Josafat Perez.

Southpaw Perez was coming down from lightweight, where he holds the Mexican title, but had never before traded in anything approaching world class.

That gulf in experience was evident as the 25 year old from Monclava was outboxed from the first bell.

Tokyo based Venezuelan Linares put on a clinical display of the skill that won him WBA crowns at feather and super feather, impressively airing out his arsenal against a clearly overmatched challenger. More...

Saturday night's alright for fightin' this evening south of the border as there are two WBA title clashes taking place.

WBA super feather champ Jorge Linares is in action at the Plaza de Toros in Nuevo Laredo, meeting the challenge of unheralded opponent Josafat Perez.

Linares, 26-0 (17), a former WBC featherweight titlist from Venezuela, will be making the first defense of the crown he won last November with a stoppage of Whyber Garcia in the fifth.

The lanky 23 year old will be making just his second appearance in Mexico, having fought most of his contests in his adopted homeland of Japan. More...

It was a good weekend for the fights in Central and South America. The highlight of Friday night was Jorge Linares' WBA Super Feather title win in Panama City, already reported upon, but there were also two major title fights on Saturday in Mexico.

WBC Light Flyweight Chamion Edgar Sosa had a good challenge on his hands from tough Filipino southpaw Juanito Rubilar as the pair stood toe to toe and took turns lashing the other to head and body for six contentious rounds at Arena Mexico in Mexico City.

Neither man took a backward step in the dogfight but it wasn't until Sosa caught Rubilar in the seventh round with double left hook to the head then body that the challenger began to crack.

Rubilar withstood the followup blitz but by the end of the round he was getting hammered in the corner by the champion, prompting a referee stoppage at 2:54 of the frame.

Sosa solidifies his position as the top light flyweight in the world, improving to 34-5 (18), winning his 22nd consecutive bout and retaining his WBC title for the seventh time.

Rubilar drops to 46-11-7 (22), failing in his third bid for a full world title and sees a seven bout winning streak come to a close. More...

WBA Featherweight Champion Jorge Linares, 26-0 (17), outgrew the 126 pound division but promptly moved right up to super feather last night and won the vacant WBA title by stopping local man Whyber Garcia, 20-6 (14), in the fifth round at Centro De Convenciones Atlapa in Panama City, Panama.

At just 23 years of age, Tokyo based Venezuelan Linares showed why he is one of the best lighter weight fighters in the world by putting on a scorching performance, stopping his fifth straight opponent early.

Panama City's Luis Concepcion, 15-1 (11), kept hold of his WBA Fedelatin Flyweight title with a first round KO of Venezuela's former two-time WBA Minimumweight Champ, Noel Arambulet, 23-8-1 (11), who had only been stopped previously on one occasion.

Ex-WBA Featherweight title challenger Roinet Caballero, 25-8-1 (18), won his third in a row by stopping Colombian veteran Arcelio Ibarra, 12-11 (8), in the third round.

Venezuelan welterweight prospect Pablo Vasquez, 16-0 (16), added another stoppage to his resume by knocking out Colombia's Mauricio Julio, 14-11-1 (6), in the fifth frame.