Jorge Linares looked like the Jorge Linares of old on Friday night.
The former three-division titleholder stopped Carlos Morales at 2:09 of Round 4 in a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout on the Ryan Garcia-Francisco Fonseca on Friday night at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Linares (46-5, 28 KOs) has now won two in a row since he was stopped by Pablo Cesar Cano in an ill-fated attempt to eventually win a title in a fourth division, junior welterweight.
Linares, prone to being cut, suffered a gash above his left eye as a result of an accidental head butt in the first round. In the second, Morales (19-5-4, 8 KOs) landed a number of eye-catching punches and might’ve won the round.
However, in the third, a short right from Linares put Morales down and hurt him. He said on his way to his corner, “What hit me?”
He never really figured that out because the same punch, a short right, put him down on his behind and into the ropes. He was unable to continue.
Morales had never been stopped in his career.
Linares looked sharp, but apparently he believes he can do more.
“I’m surprised at myself because I know I can demonstrate even more than that,” the Japan-based Venezuelan said through a translator.
We’ll probably see. Linares, 34, now seems to be on his way to challenging for a 135-pound title. One possibility: Ryan Garcia.