DUBLIN -- Goyo Vargas of Mexico floored champion Paul Hodkinson of Britain twice in the seventh round to win the WBC featherweight championship.
Hodkinson, in his fourth defense of the title, caved in under a furious two-fisted assault by Vargas and the fight was halted after two minutes, 27 seconds of the seventh round.
The towel floated in from Hodkinson's corner after the champion was knocked down for the second time in the seventh round and that was enough for American referee Arthur Mercante.
It was a fight Hodgkinson could have avoided. Vargas, 22, came in with a lofty reputation and Hodkinson was given the option of backing out of the fight by his manager Barney Eastwood.
But Hodkinson took the challenge -- and this costly defeat will put an end to his $900,000 prospective bout against New Yorker Kevin Kelley.
Yet for five rounds Hodkinson was well in command before Vargas' blows began to tell.
Hodkinson, 27, with his injury-prone eyes swelling, soaked up more than he was giving in the sixth as Vargas moved smoothly into a menacing rhythm.
Hodkinson's punches were short of the mark and becoming fewer in volume as Vargas took complete command of the bout in world class style.
Hodkinson, seeing his title drifting away, took three solid right hands, was in complete disarray and Vargas sent him crashing into the ropes and down with a big left.
Vargas was now in overdrive, and a brave Hodkinson was sputtering to a halt. He hauled himself up to take the remainder of the eight count from Mercante, officiating in his 107th bout, and a final uppercut finished the job.
Earlier, it looked as if Hodkinson may be in business in the third round when he nailed Vargas with a crunching right cross. But that proved to be Hodkinson's one big moment as Vargas took over and delivred wicked shots to Hodkinson's head and body.
It was revealed later that Hodkinson was ahead on all three cards, and on two of them by wide margins when the fight was stopped.
'I take nothing away from Vargas, he came and did what he had to do, ' said Hodkinson. 'But I didn't feel 100 per cent right, it wasn't the real Paul Hodkinson in there tonight.'
