Sunday 11 December 2016 04:15, UK
A new and improved Scott Quigg demonstrated his full recovery from a broken jaw with an emphatic knockout of Jose Cayetano in Manchester.
Debuting at featherweight (126lbs), his heaviest ever, Quigg displayed improved punch power to dispel memories of his debilitating injury, suffered 10 months ago when losing his world title to Carl Frampton.
A left hook to the body set up a violent overhand right from Quigg, which sprawled his visitor into the corner and forced the referee to call an immediate halt. The ninth-round punch earned Quigg the WBC International belt.
Quigg, the former WBA super-bantamweight champion, put his fuller, more muscular physique to good use by constantly bullying Cayetano into the corners and winning the gritty exchanges inside the pocket, an ominous sign of what to come.
Quigg, from Bury, whipped back the head of his Mexican visitor in the fifth round as the fight began heating up but quickly learned that featherweight opponents may resist some of the work that accounted for past foes in lighter weight divisions.
Cayetano, a former opponent of ex-featherweight world champion Leo Santa Cruz who had never previously been stopped, was a tricky, defensive puzzle that wasn't an easy target for Quigg.
Cayetano's tendency to switch between orthodox and southpaw gave the home fighter plenty to consider, but was rarely allowed to become a ploy to counter-attack.
The seventh round ended with Quigg landing an overhand right, with Cayetano stuck in the corner again, but the visitor again regrouped to grind into the next round. The same shot, a couple of rounds later, ended the fight in a flash and introduced Quigg as a viable contender in his new weight division.
