Montez Starts Slowly but Stops Rivas in Four

A late dinner caused junior middleweight John Montez’s sluggish start against journeyman James Rivas of Phoenix. But by the fourth round, Montez’s food had digested and Rivas was having trouble walking and hearing.

Referee Vince Delgado stopped the bout when Rivas was unable to answer the bell for the fifth round of Thursday night’s main event at the Irvine Marriott.

Montez (43-5), who fights out of Los Angeles, won his second consecutive fight after a four-year layoff. Although he was in command from the start, Montez didn’t feel right until he worked off the spaghetti he ate at 4 p.m.

“I felt it right in the gut,” Montez said.

Montez felt worse when he was penalized by Delgado for a low blow in the first round. But Montez took over in the second when he sent Rivas (9-8-1) to the canvas with a straight left to the chin. Somehow Rivas managed to get up and last the round.

“I’m surprised he got up after that,” Montez said.

Early in the fourth round, Rivas began limping badly on his left ankle. Unable to run from Montez, Rivas began getting hit with more regularity. When Rivas told his manager, he could no longer hear out of his right ear, Delgado ended the bout.

Montez, 32, said he is close to getting a World Boxing Organization junior middleweight title shot against the winner of this month’s Lupe Aquino-Vernon Phillips fight.