At the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan, WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel (41-2-2, 31 KOs) came from behind to knock WBC champion Hozumi Hasegawa (28-3, 12 KOs) out in the fourth round. Montiel, behind on the official scorecards, landed a huge left hand to put Hasegawa in trouble during the fourth. The Mexican champion closed the show with a combination of power punches to force the stoppage. Montiel now becomes the unified WBC/WBO champ. Photos by Naoki Fukada.
In the world title co-feature, WBC super bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka (36-4-3, 23 KOs) had few issues with previously undefeated Balweg Bangoyan (15-1, 6 KOs). The Filipino challenger was overmatched and had no answers for the champion. Nishioka dropped him with a hard left hand in the fifth round. Once Bangoyan beat the count, the champion attacked until the referee stopped the fight.
