Ringside Report Looks Back at Boxer Chris Linson, JR

[AdSense-A]

By Daniel Sisneros

Santa Fe, New Mexico’s Chris “JC” Linson Jr. was one of New Mexico’s top Amateur boxers winning numerous tournament and Golden Gloves titles before turning professional on June 22, 1996, starting off with a “Bang!” knocking out Juan Napoles in the first round.

He ran his record to 10-0, 8 knockouts, including wins against fellow New Mexicans Marty Maestas, Samari Al Abboudy, and Roland “Thunder” Baker. July 18, 1997 was a big night as he faced Jr. Middleweight David Williams on the Johnny Tapia/Danny Romero undercard at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The bout ended in a majority draw with one judge seeing it 58-55 for Linson, and the other two judges scoring it 57-57 each.

Chris was shocked in his next outing being stopped by Florida’s Tommy Eaglin (15-4, 8 ko) in round 5. He bounced back with 3 wins, 2 by ko before the big showdown bout with fellow New Mexican Rudy “Bad Boy” Lovato (12-10, 4 ko) in Chris’s home town of Santa Fe for the New Mexico State Jr. Welter Title. It was a wild affair that swung back and forth, but when the final bell sounded it was Linson who hung on to claim the title on scores of 115-114, 115-114, and 117-112.

Linson followed up with a victory over Bobby Butters in Cripple Creek, Colorado, but then ran into a tough streak being stopped 3 times in a row against Javier Valadez (for the NABA Lightweight title), James “Too Sweet” Crayton, and Colorado’s Steve Valdez. He then ran off a streak of 3 straight victories and then scored a 12 round unanimous decision victory over Gerald Reed for the NBA Continental Americas Welter Title. He then defeated Reed in the rematch 4 months later for the NBA Welterweight Title.

He would fight just 3 more times including a win over Denver’s Eugene Lopez, a loss to undefeated New Mexican Joseph Brady, and then his final pro bout which was held October 3, 2013 in Louisiana where he was stopped by rising contender Bahodir Mamajodnov (14-1, 9 ko).

Linson brought lots of excitement to the New Mexico boxing scene, especially in his home town of Santa Fe where he never lost a bout. He ended his career with an excellent record of 21-6-1, 11 by knockout.

Purchase Dan’s Hit Boxing Book Mat Tales: True Stories From The Bizarre, Brutal World Of Pro Boxing by Clicking the Image to ORDER it Now.