Michael Coffie made a nice statement on a big stage.
The heavyweight prospect, who turned pro at 29, put Darmani Rock down twice and knocked him out 59 seconds into Round 3 of a scheduled 10-round bout on the Caleb Plant-Caleb Truax card Saturday in Los Angeles.
Coffie (12-0, 9 KOs) was a little busier than Rock (17-1, 12 KOs) in the first round. And the former Marine won the second in part by getting the better of inside exchanges.
The New Yorker exploded in the third. A left uppercut put Rock down and hurt him about 20 seconds into the round. He got to his feet at around the count of 9 was continued.
However, moments later a left hook to Rock’s temple put him down again. Referee Jack Reiss reached the count of seven and then stopped the fight
Coffie, a hulking 6-foot-5, 270¼ pounds, has yet to be ranked but he knows where he wants to end up.
“I’m trying to get someone above Darmani Rock,” he said afterward. “I want that person. After that, I want somebody else who is above him … and above him and so on and so forth.
“Whatever is going to get me to a world title.”
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