Liam Williams reinforced his position as mandatory challenger to Demetrius Andrade middleweight title on Saturday.
The Welshman stopped Andrew Robinson with a left hook to the body on 1 minute, 28 seconds into their scheduled 12-round bout at the BT Sport Studio in London.
Both fighters suffered cuts on their heads from an accidental head clash moments before the stoppage.
“I wanted it to go a bit further, but we clashed heads and I saw blood dripping so I thought, ‘I need to end this now before it ends in a technical draw,'” Williams said.
“I’m mandatory challenger for WBO title to fight Demetrius Andrade, and it’s a case of when and where, I will be there. I want my opportunity next.”
Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) got the attention of Robinson (24-5-1, 7 KOs) about 10 seconds into the fight, when he seemed to stun the the Englishman with an overhand right hand.
Williams continued to attack but he shifted into another gear after the clash of heads, soon trapping Robinson in a corner and unloading a barrage of hard punches. They were capped by the body shot, which forced Robinson to his knees.
Robinson seemed be getting to his feet a split second be referee Marcus McDonnell reached the count of 10 but it was too late. The fight was stopped.
Williams has now won seven consecutive fights — all by knockout — since back-to-back losses to Liam Smith in 2017, the first because of a cut and the second by a majority decision.
Robinson had won three consecutive fights against second-level opposition going into the fight on Saturday.