Frank Martin continues his ascent.
The talented lightweight contender received some resistance from late replacement Jackson Marinez but ended matters in the final round of a 10-round junior welterweight fight on the Mark Magsayo-Rey Vargas card Saturday in San Antonio.
Martin (16-0, 12 KOs) outboxed and outworked the surprisingly tough, but slower Marinez (19-3, 7 KOs) for eight-plus rounds. Then things went south quickly for the underdog.
Martin, a southpaw, hurt Marinez with a right hook in the final seconds of Round 9 and put him down with a flurry of punches, punctuated with a big left hand.
Then, in Round 10, Martin went in for the kill. He hurt Marinez with another right hook and followed with a barrage of shots that forced a beaten Marinez to sink to the canvas.
Referee Rafael Ramos stopped the fight 30 seconds into the round without counting.
Marinez has now lost three consecutive fights.