By James Blears

Ex-WBC Featherweight champion Guty Espadas Jr. (42-7, 27KOs) made short work of Naoki Matsuda (29-8-3, 11KOs) in the eliminator for the title, in Chetumal, Mexico.

Espadas stalked Matsuda in round one, and put him down with a long looping left hook. He finished the job in one-minute and six-seconds of round two with a booming straight right. Matsuda who was outclassed beat the count and wanted to continue, but referee Jose Covian saved him and stopped further potshot fire.

The win is Espadas' fourth straight win since being stopped by Rocky Juarez in 2004. He returned to the ring last year after more than two-years off. Matsuda had not tasted defeat in his last 16 fights. He was last beaten in 2002.