By Miguel Rivera
Jorge Linares (43-3, 27 KOs) was very pleased with is performance from Saturday night, when he retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight crown Saturday against Olympic gold medal winner Luke Campbell (17-2, 14 KOs) at the Inglewood Forum in Los Angeles, California.
The fight was televised as a headliner by HBO and represented Linares' return to the United States for the first time since he knocked out Ira Terry at the StubHub Center in 2014. The return to the United States on HBO, represents something special for 'El Niño de Oro'
"Not every Latino boxer has that opportunity. I believe deserved it, I have worked very hard. There are 45 fights, three times I lost. I have raised up from those defeats," said Linares, who was knocked out in 2011 and 2012 by Antonio DeMarco and Sergio Thompson but then won his next 12 wins.
"Sometimes it is better to fall and know how to get up. I had the support of a lot of people," Linares said to Fox Deportes. "I had to eat the greens to eat the mature ones. I feel I'm at the best moment of my career. I've worked really hard on what I've had and what I have now."
Regarding the most current popular topic in boxing, the controversial twelve round split draw of Canelo and Golovkin on Saturday in Las Vegas, the Venezuelan said he liked the performance of the Mexican star.
"I liked it a lot more than what he did against [Julio César] Chávez. He was very fast, very agile, very strong. The only thing I did not like is that he spent too much time on the ropes," Linares said.
"Golovkin is a very strong fighter. I think that's what made Canelo back up. I think [Canelo] was clever, but he spent too much time on the ropes. For me the draw was the best decision."