HYOGO, JAPAN — Jhonny Gonzalez won the WBC featherweight title earlier today with a 4th round TKO over Hozumi Hasegawa.
Both fighters landed their fair share of power punches throughout the first three rounds. Gonzalez was more accurate with his right hand, jarring Hasegawa with several straight rights. At the end of the third, Gonzalez stunned his opponent with a left uppercut followed by two left hooks. Hasegawa responded in kind by waving Gonzalez in before launching two straight lefts to close out the round.
Hasegawa began the fourth by circling and ran into a short right hook for a knockdown. Hasegawa beat the count, but had no legs or awareness to continue, prompting referee Michael Griffin to call the bout with 2:04 remaining.
The win puts Jhonny Gonzalez (48-7, 42 KOs) in line to face the division’s stars and fellow champions in Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Hasegawa (29-4, 12 KOs) loses the title in his second defense, and suffers the second KO loss of his career.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 