Linares stops Mitchell in 10th to keep WBC belt

Published May 03, 2016

London, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Jorge Linares battered Englishman Kevin Mitchell to retain his WBC world lightweight title on Saturday night.

Linares (39-3, 26 KOs) won via knockout in the 10th round when referee Victor Loughin stopped the fight in the middle of his count after Mitchell (39-3) had gotten back up on his feet in the corner.

Mitchell was hampered by several cuts on his face, including an open gash that caused his left eye to swell shut. Earlier, he sent the Venezuelan Linares to the canvas in the fifth round with a good right hook.

Linares, who claimed the WBC belt against Javier Prieto in December, extended his winning streak to eight bouts. Mitchell lost for the first time in seven fights.

Earlier at O2 Arena, Welshman Lee Selby (21-1) won the IBF world featherweight title from previously unbeaten Russian Evgeny Gradovich (19-1) when the fight was stopped in the eighth round because of a cut over Gradovich's eye.

And Kell Brook (35-0) retained the IBF welterweight title with a sixth-round technical knockout of Frankie Gavin (22-2).

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/linares-stops-mitchell-in-10th-to-keep-wbc-belt