By Rick Reeno

The Pearl, Palms Casino, Las Vegas - The second time is the charm. After losing out in his WBO world title fight last year with Vasyl Lomachenko, Gary Russell Jr. (26-1, 15KOs) blew out Jhonny Gonzalez (57-8, 48KOs) in four rounds to capture the WBC featherweight championship. Gonzalez was down three times.

Russell started fast with quick jabs. Gonzalez had a tight defense and was looking for an opening, Russell's speed was a big factor in the opening round, as Gonzalez had trouble adjusting to the challenger's style. Russell started landing more frequently in the third and punctuated the round with an inside hook that dropped Gonzalez in the final seconds.

Russell went back on the attack in the fourth, dropping Gonzalez for a second time. Gonzalez beat the count, but Russell jumped right back on him and had the champion going down a third time as referee Tony Weeks stepped in to wave the fight off.