Mendez KOs Salgado in four, wins IBF 130-pound title

Argenis Mendez avenged a close decision loss to Juan Carlos Salgado in 2011 by knocking out the Mexican junior lightweight titleholder in the fourth round of their rematch on Saturday, winning the IBF belt in the process.

Mendez (21-2, 11 knockouts), a 26-year-old boxer-puncher from the Dominican Republic, dropped Salgado with a short right in the final minute of the opening round of the IBF junior lightweight title bout at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, Calif. Salgado (26-3-1, 16 KOs), a 28-year-old veteran from Mexico City, got up on wobbly legs but survived the round and even managed to mount a spirited inside attack on Mendez in rounds two and three, but the fight abruptly ended 45 seconds into the fourth round when Salgado was clipped by a right cross-left hook combination.

Mendez's hook, delivered from short range out of a shoulder roll, instantly dropped Salgado on his back where referee Wayne Hedgepeth waved the bout off without a count.

Salgado, who won the vacant IBF belt by outpointing Mendez in Guadalajara, Mexico, was attempting to make the fourth defense of the title. He is best known for scoring a first-round stoppage of Jorge Linares to claim the WBA 130-pound belt in 2009.