Jorge Linares WBC title defense against Dejan Zlaticanin in the works

Couched in news about Francisco Vargas' potential fights with Yuriorkis Gamboa and Takashi Miura, Dan Rafael brings word of an intriguing lightweight title fight on the horizon. WBC champion Jorge Linares and mandatory challenger Dejan Zlaticanin are presently in negotiations for a future showdown, with a purse bid scheduled for tomorrow (Friday, January 8th).

It's been three years since Linares' (40-3, 27 KO) infamous chin has totally betrayed him, and he's won nine fights in that span, seven by stoppage. He beat Mexico's Javier Prieto for the vacant title two Decembers ago and successfully defended it against Kevin Mitchell and Ivan Cano last year. The Venezuelan remains neck-and-neck with Rances Barthelemy for ownership of the 135-pound division.

A win over Zlaticanin (21-0, 14 KO) would certainly be a valuable piece of argumentative ammunition. The Montenegrin southpaw entered the scene with a 2014 upset of Ricky Burns and, in his most recent appearance, smashed up touted ShoBox product Ivan Redkach in four. He's certainly got the sort of aggression and solid power to give the ever-fragile Linares difficulties despite an obvious technical deficit.

Solid fight brewing here; hopefully negotiations go smoothly.