Some of Linares’ awards include Gold Medal Venezuela’s Juniors National Championship in 1999; Gold Medal Venezuela’s Juniors National Championship in 1999, Panama Dual; Silver Medal National Championship in 2000; and Gold Medal Venezuela’s Juniors National Championship in 2001.
Jorge Luis Linares Palencia, now currently living in Tokyo, Japan was born in Barinas Venezuela on August 22, 1985. In 2002, when he was 17 years old then, Linares decided to leave his family in his native country. He met Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda of Teiken Boxing Promotion in Tokyo who offered to guide and manage his career. Linares can already fight at 17 in Japan, but needs to wait till he turns 18 in Venezuela though he won several amateur bouts when he was 21 years old in his home country.
He is known to be Golden Boy El Nino de Oro. He is promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. He was predicted to becoming a boxing sensation in the States as well as in Japan where he speaks the Japanese language fluently. He has gone from an unknown boxer to one of the hottest prospect to becoming a star in the boxing arena. Rated at the featherweight division, he practices the Orthodox stance. Linares has been the WBC World Featherweight Champion since 2007.
He won a hard battle and defeated Oscar Larios. The 12 rounder was for the vacant interim featherweight title of WBC. But he earned the complete championship title when In Jin Chi relinquished his belt when Jin Chi opted to compete in the K-1.
Linares fought a total of 25 fights. He won all the fights and was not defeated in any of his single bouts. 16 of which were won by a knockout.
