HYANNIS, Mass. - Joey Spina defended one super middleweight title and won another one when he stopped Jay Pina in the fourth round of a scheduled 12-round fight Friday.
Spina, of Providence, R.I., was defending the World Boxing Council/United States National Championship title. The International Boxing Federation International title was vacant.
He improved to 19-0-1 with 14 knockouts. Pina, of Falmouth, Mass., dropped to 16-2.
The 28-year-old Spina controlled the action for most of the fight, tagging Pina with hard left hooks to the body when Pina came forward.
Referee Richard Flaherty stopped the fight at 2:34 of the fourth round after Spina landed a left hook on the ropes that dazed Pina.
The 42-year-old Pina took a seven-fight winning streak into the fight.
It was Spina's second straight victory by knockout. In May, he stopped Jessie Brinkley, a former contestant on the reality show The Contender, in the 11th round after trailing on all three judges' scorecards.
Spina trains in Las Vegas with former world light heavyweight champion Eddie Musafa Muhammad.
"I was a little nervous for this fight because I didn't know what he brought to the table," Spina said. "I worked too hard. I trained seven weeks for the Brinkley fight, then took a few weeks off and started training for this fight."
Spina is ranked 17th by the WBC and third by the North American Boxing Association.
