By Jake Donovan
La Cetto Vineyard, Baja California, Mexico - Former champion Fernando "KOchulito" Montiel (46-3, 36 KOs), in his second ring appearance as a super bantamweight, stopped Nicaraguan Alvaro Perez (22-4-1, 12 KOs) at 1:26 of the third round. Montiel, 32-years-old, showed a combination of speed and strength, as an overmatched Perez was trying his best to survive the assault from the former three division titleholder.
Montiel was using a sharp jab, moving from his waist and staying at a distance before coming in to land two-handed combinations. In the third round, a left hand from Montiel cracked Perez on the chin and put him to down and out. Referee Alberto Ramos reached the count of five before realizing that Perez was not making it up and he quickly stopped the fight.
"I was promised by Fernando Beltran that my next fight would be for the super bantamweight world title. I'm back and ready to win my fourth title in a fourth weight division and in 2012 I will pursue a rematch against Nonito Donaire," Montiel said.
Undercard Action
In a year that seems to alternate between shocking upsets and horrific officiating, score one for the latter category as Aaron Herrera escaped with a highly controversial split decision over journeyman Carlos Wiston Velasquez.
Herrera was dominated nearly every step of their way in their 10-round lightweight bout, which aired live on TV Azteca. Velasquez applied non-stop pressure and refused to back down, both aspects perhaps a new look for the undefeated Mexican, who has been matched soft while on the rise.
One of the few bright moments for Herrera came midway through the bout, when he was able to rock Velasquez with a right hand to the chin. Velasquez momentarily wobbled, but quickly recovered and barely missed a step.
The threat of a knockout never surfaced, but Velasquez was persistent in his attack throughout the bout. Herrera remained busy over the course of the evening, though never lending the impression that his punches had much of an effect on the well-traveled Nicaraguan.
As it turned out in the end, the only thing Herrera needed to do was cross the finish line and the judges would take care of the rest.
Velasquez managed to get the nod on one card, but even the 96-95 tally turned in seemed way too close. But it was as generous as it would get for him as the other two judges seemed to believe that Herrera did enough to win, including a 100-94 tally that was so ridiculous, it warrants an investigation.
Nevertheless, Herrera manages to remain unbeaten as his record advances to 21-0 (15KO). At best, he leaves the bout gaining invaluable experience as the road only gets tougher from here. To say he improved, though, would be a stretch.
A two-fight win streak comes to an end for Velasquez, as he falls to 18-12-1 (10KO) with the loss. The shoddy scoring denied him the opportunity to claim his second undefeated scalp in the span of the past two months; Velasquez managed a sixth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Misael Castillo this past June, also in Mexico.
On The Undercard
Jose Felix Jr. (17-0-1, 15KOs) knocked out Juan Velasquez in the first round of a super featherweight contest (6-17-2, 4KOs).
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .