By Mark Vester

At the Nihon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel (41-2-2, 31 KOs) added the WBC title to his waist when he stopped Hozumi Hasegawa (28-3, 12 KO) in the fourth round of a competitive fight.

 

Both had their moments in the first round, but it was Hasegawa who landed the better combination of punches and caught Montiel with some very good counters.

In the second, Montiel stayed on the back-foot. He allowed Hasegawa to take charge. Montiel was looking for a counter. The third was more of Hasegawa landing very good punches while coming in. Montiel with a hook and Hasegawa answered. They traded hooks again. The punches of Hasegawa were pushing Montiel back.

In the fourth, Hasegawa was using his jab to work in and then unleashed hard combos. Montiel caught Hasegawa sleeping with a counter lefthook bomb and then battered him against the ropes until referee Laurence Cole jumped in to stop the fight.