By Mark Vester

At the Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, WBC super bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka (34-4-3, 21 KOs) of Japan was a man on a mission, taking out former champ Jhonny Gonzalez (40-7, 34 KOs) in three rounds.

Thousands of cheering Mexicans were on their feet when Gonzalez came out strong in the first round and sent the champion down with a right hand. Gonzalez paced himself and began to box in the second. In the third, Nishioka fired back with a monster left that crumbled Gonzalez, and the ref quickly waved the fight off.

In the co-feature, the anticipated return of two-division champion Rafael Marquez (38-5, 34 KOs), who took out Jose Francisco Mendoza (21-3-2, 17 KOs) in three rounds. After boxing for the first two rounds, Marquez opened up in the third, letting his hands go and landing hard right hands that sent Mendoza down hard. He made it up but appeared unsteady and the ref stopped the contest.

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