American Gary Russell (left) knocked down Jhonny Gonzalez three times in the fight, with referee Tony Weeks calling a halt less than a minute into the round.

AFP/Las Vegas

American Gary Russell dominated Jhonny Gonzalez en route to a fourth-round technical knockout on Saturday to seize the Mexican’s World Boxing Council featherweight world title. Gonzalez had no answer for Russell’s speed and power.
Russell knocked down Gonzalez three times in the fight—once in the third round and twice in the fourth, with referee Tony Weeks calling a halt less than a minute into the round.
“This is the kind of performance I expect, but you can’t get these every time,” said Russell, who was making his second bid for a world title after losing last June to Ukraine southpaw Vasyl Lomachenko in a World Boxing Organization title bout.
“We put the work in at the gym. We grind three times a day, hard,” added Russell, who indicated after the fight he wants a rematch with Lomachenko. “For all the young fighters coming up, never come into a fight questioning or doubting. Always come into a fight ready.”
Russell knocked Gonzalez down with a big left-right combination at the end of the third round, Gonzalez regaining his feet just as the round ended. Russell opened the fourth by landing a flurry of blows to Gonzalez’ head and body, a left to the head sending him down again.
Gonzalez rose but was clearly hurt when the action resumed, and another flurry from Russell sent him down again and had Weeks stepping in. Russell, a 2008 Olympian, improved to 26-1 with 15 knockouts while Gonzalez fell to 57-9 with 48 wins inside the distance.
Gonzalez was making his third defense of the title he won for the second time in 2013, with a victory over compatriot Abner Mares in Los Angeles. Gonzalez first won the crown in 2011 but lost it in 2012 when an accidental head-butt brought an eighth-round end and a loss to Daniel Ponce de Leon at Las Vegas.

Brook beats Dan to retain IBF title
England’s Kell Brook, who returned from an horrific knife attack last year, on Saturday retained his IBF world welterweight title.
The unbeaten 28-year-old floored Romanian challenger Jo Jo Dan four times in a four-round stoppage win six months after being stabbed with a machete in Tenerife.
Brook won the IBF title by beating America’s Shawn Porter last August, and he defended the belt against Canada-based Dan at the Motorpoint Arena in his hometown of Sheffield.
Soon after beating Porter, Brook sustained serious leg injuries in the machete attack while on holiday on the Spanish island of Tenerife, but declared last January he was ready to return to the ring.
He produced a dominant performance as he floored Dan twice in the second round. He was knocked down twice in the fourth and did not come out for round five.
Brook has a new record of 34-0 (23KOs).
Southpaw Dan entered the ring a heavy underdog with a record of 34-3 with 18 early wins. Victory paves the way for a more lucrative fight this summer, with Brook targeting the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Marcos Maidana and, of course, fellow Briton Amir Khan.