Former World Boxing Council flyweight champion Daigo Higa of Shisei Boxing Gym knocked out the WBC’s fifth-ranked bantamweight Navapon Khaikanha of Thailand in the fourth round in a bantamweight nontitle fight on Dec. 31 in Tokyo.

  The fight served as the chief supporting card for the World Boxing Association super flyweight title fight at Ota City General Gymnasium.

  The end of the scheduled 10-rounder came 2 minutes and 29 seconds into the round when the 28-year-old Higa landed a devastating left hook to the midsection after a barrage of left and right combinations to the head. The 32-year-old Navapon went down face first and could not beat the referee’s count.

  After the fight, Higa said, ‘’While I was hurt a little bit, I am relieved that I was able to win in the end. I will try not to be hit in my future fights. I will do my best so that I can have a good fight (a world title fight) next year.’’

  With the win, Higa improved his record to 21 wins, including 19 KOs, against two losses and a draw. For his part, Navapon fell to a 58-4-1 win-loss-draw tally with 48 KOs.