Vasiliy Lomachenko stops Jorge Linares in 10th to claim lightweight title

Vasiliy Lomachenko had been down on the canvas and was even on the scorecards.

The tough test Lomachenko craved, the one he said would force him to finally unleash all his skills, had finally arrived.

Moments later, he ended it.

Lomachenko stopped Jorge Linares in the 10th round of their lightweight championship fight Saturday night, winning a title in his third weight class in just his 12th pro bout.

Lomachenko landed a hard left to the body during a flurry of precision punches that sent Linares to a knee. Linares finally got up just as the count was reaching 10 but referee Ricky Gonzalez called an end to the fight at 2:08 of the round.

“I prepared for the last few rounds, and my father told me, ‘You need to go to the body,’” Lomachenko said. His father, Anatoly Lomachenko, is his trainer.