INGLEWOOD, California – Super middleweight prospect Joeshon James dropped David Stevens twice to score a first-round knockout victory to remain unbeaten.
The super middleweight scrap was scheduled for eight rounds, but James (7-0-2, 5 KOs) needed less than three minutes to get rid of Stevens (13-1, 9 KOs).
Referee Jerry Cantu called a stop to the action at the 2:52 mark with Stevens still standing on his feet.
James first stunned Stevens with a right cross and then followed it with a left hook to score his first knockdown. Stevens picked himself off the canvas but was seated again mere seconds later, this time with a right hand that dropped him.
Stevens got back up again but was clearly hurt, as he turned his back and stumbled around after eating more punches, forcing Cantu to end the fight.
James was fighting for the second time in three weeks and against an unbeaten fighter for the fourth consecutive time.
On Sept. 30, during the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo fight, James fought to a four-round majority draw against Abilkhan Amankul.
Iyana Verduzco made her pro debut in fiery fashion, scoring a unanimous decision victory in her four-round lightweight scrap against Clarice Morales in front of her hometown crowd.
Verduzco pressed the action for most of the fight and won the exchanges in close quarters. Judges rewarded Verduzco (1-0) for her offensive pressure with scores of 40-36, 39-37, and 39-37 against Morales (0-2-1).
The 22-year-old southpaw from Los Angeles had many of her supporters sitting ringside in their seats early chanting “Roxy” to kick off the card.
Santa Ana’s Alexis “Lex” Rocha (23-1, 15 KOs) and San Diego’s Giovani “Gallo de Oro” Santillan (31-0, 16 KOs) will be headlining the DAZN show on Saturday promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and presented in association with Top Rank at the Kia Forum.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.