Edwin De Los Santos was too much for Jose Valenzuela from the opening bell.
The Dominican lightweight prospect landed hard, accurate shots almost at will, put his Mexican opponent down twice and stopped him at 1:08 of the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder on the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Luis Ortiz card Sunday in Los Angeles.
De Los Santos (15-1, 14 KOs) was able to connect with his quick, punishing jab and sharp combinations from the opening bell, which put Valenzuela (12-1, 8 KOs) on his heels.
The Mexican fought bravely but couldn’t avoid De Los Santos’ punches or land enough to his own to turn the tide.
The second round was wild, as both fighters went down. De Los Santos also lost a point for punching Valenzuela while he was down.
None of that mattered, however, Valenzuela was clearly hurt as the bell rang for the start of Round 3. And De Los Santos took advantage, putting Valenzuela down once more.
Valenzuela was able to get to his feet but he was in trouble. All it took for a hard combination to his head to convince referee Ray Corona to stop the fight.
De Los Santos hopes that the movers and shakers in boxing took notice.
“I came in against a ranked fighter tonight and I was up for the task,” he said. “Now I want the same name that everyone wants. I want Gervonta Davis.”
Valenzuela, a rising contender, will now have to rebuild.
“I didn’t expect De Los Santos to be as aggressive as he was in the fight,” he said. “He gave it out as he good as he took. I just want to focus on getting back in the ring and redeeming myself.”
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