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Jorge Lara's record was pretty suspect coming into his fight tonight with veteran Fernando Montiel, but he made a statement in his PBC on FOX opener, dropping Montiel four times in the first round and scoring a violent knockout win.
Lara (28-0-2, 20 KO) dropped the 37-year-old Montiel pretty quickly on a right hook, which put Montiel down hard and had him severely hurt. Montiel attempted to clinch once the fight resumed, but was sent to the canvas a second time -- which may have been at least a partial slip -- and was caught with a rabbit punch, too. The knockdown was official.
The third knockdown came moments after that, but referee Ray Corona allowed the fight to continue, also giving Lara a warning for some dirty tactics. The fight was finished moments later, at 1:37 of round one, when yet another punishing right hook caught Montiel flush, ending the fight on the fourth knockdown, which arguably didn't really need to happen.
Montiel (54-6-2, 39 KO) was simply bowled over here, and just never was able to get himself into the fight. He officially landed three minutes in the 97 seconds, meaning that Lara knocked Montiel down more times than Montiel landed a punch. Considering Montiel went a competitive 12 rounds with IBF titleholder Lee Selby last time out, this is definitely a solid win for Lara, who now can be seen as an emerging threat at 126 pounds.
Here's the final shot that ended the fight: