By Elisinio Castillo

WBC lightweight champion Jorge Linares (39-3, 26KOs) put on a great performance last Saturday night in London, when he came from behind to gain a sensational knockout victory over Kevin Mitchell (39-3).

Linares was knocked down in the fight round and lost a few of the earlier rounds, but he came back strong down the stretch by badly swelling up the left eye of Mitchell and then stopping him after a knockdown in the tenth.

"It was a war. For everyone who says it was my toughest fight - they are right. In boxing, anything can happen, but the battle ended well. When I was on the canvas, I really do not think about anything. I kept calm because I was in good condition. If you look closely, you will see that he gave me an elbow, and that was the reason why I went down," Linares said.

"I had to work on throwing strong combinations [in the fight]. In the fifth I realized that he would not go down [off of one punch] and I began to work on his wounds - on his eyebrow with my right, and his nose with my jab. I was smart and in the tenth I could realize [the end was near]. If you look at the video, at the end I threw combinations well, and a hook on the side is the one that dropped him. Mitchell is a southpaw, a very difficult opponent and I have respect for him."

"Now the plan is to return to defend within three months. I hope to fight again in September. For now, I must rest, but I want to fight that month against whoever."