Golden Boy Prez on Linares' Future, Garcia/Lomachenko Fights

By Steve Kim

So what's next for Jorge Linares after his virtuoso performance against Anthony Crolla this past weekend at the Manchester Arena, where he successfully defended his WBA lightweight title?

Eric Gomez, the president of Golden Boy Promotions cracked - "Vacation, right now. He's going to relax with his family and that's it. We don't have anything planned immediately. We're going to meet with him, we're going to meet with Mr.(Akihiko) Honda, our partner, and figure out a game plan."

This much is clear, after not having fought in the States since 2014 (when he stopped Ira Terry in two rounds in August of that year at the StubHub Center in Carson, California) he will be brought back to America.

"That's one of the things we're going to propose, we want him back here. He's earned it, he's a world champion and obviously there's a lot of excitement. Everybody is excited about his performance. So yes, we definitely want to bring him back,'' stated Gomez.

And Linares - who has a record of 42-3 (27 KO's) - is certainly the type of talent who will attract the attention of the premium cable networks in America.

"He's the type of guy anybody would want to showcase but yes, of course, he's very exciting. He's always been a very exciting fighter. We had some great opportunities for him in the UK," said Gomez of his client who has fought three times in Britain since 2015.

"He made a lot of money and now it's time for him to come back to the United States and showcase his skills."

As for a showdown with WBC lightweight belt-holder Mikey Garcia, Gomez says - ''We're not going to speculate or comments on anything in the immediate future till we meet with him and Mr. Honda. But look, that's a great fight.(Vasyl) Lomachenko says nobody wants to fight him... well, Jorge's willing to fight him. So there are some options out there and we're going to explore every option for Jorge Linares.

After fighting just once in 2016 is there any chance that the 31-year old Linares will fight twice more in 2017?

''That would be great, that would be ideal but we wont know till we meet with the kid," said Gomez. "We don't know if he wants to take a break. It was a tough fight he went twelve rounds, even though he made it look easy. That's how good he is. He had a long training camp and I'm sure he wants some rest and relaxation with his family, his daughter. So we'll come up with the right game plan and get him the big fights."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.