Garza Defeats Linares on Fifth-Round Technical Knockout

It was like stalking a small animal in a box. If the referee hadn’t stopped the fight, the ASPCA might have showed up.

Jaime Garza of Pacoima continued his comeback from oblivion Wednesday night with a thorough beating of Mexico City’s Carlos Linares beneath a wing of the Spruce Goose in Long Beach in a featherweight fight stopped 25 seconds into the fifth round.

Garza, the former World Boxing Council super-bantamweight champion, had been scheduled to face Darryl Thigpen, who withdrew after injuring his back in a car accident.

Linares was brought in as a replacement. He has a decent reputation and had gone the distance in three previous bouts this year. But against Garza, the Mexican boxer was simply outclassed.

Linares (24-13 with 21 knockouts) stumbled and pawed his way through the fight as Garza scored on virtually every punch.

“I hurt this guy in the first round, but I didn’t go wild,” said Garza, who improved to 44-1 with 42 knockouts.

Self-control has been a theme for Garza. In 1984, he lost his WBC title when Juan (Kid) Meza knocked him out in the first round. Garza, 24, went into self-imposed exile for 1 1/2 years after that fight, but is now on the comeback trail.

Wednesday, that comeback trail ran over Carlos Linares’ face.