Junior welterweight Ernesto Mercado is quickly becoming a legit prospect and one to watch.
Mercado remained unbeaten Thursday night, stopping journeyman Daniel Evangelista, Jr. in the opening round inside The Hangar at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa, California.
The 20-year-old, who resides in nearby Pomona, improves to 5-0, 5 knockouts.
From the opening bell, Mercado was the aggressor, putting Evangelista on the defensive. Within the first 25 seconds, Mercado landed a combination that dropped Evangelista to the canvas.
Evangelista beat the count and was game, but was not able to match the speed, power and aggression of Mercado. Evangelista was dropped twice more later in the round, prompting referee Ray Corona to stop the fight after Evangelista was knocked down to the canvas for the third time at 1:37.
Mercado was an amateur standout who has remained very busy since turning pro on July 31. His previous fight took place on February 12, when he knocked out Marc Misiura in the opening round.
Evangelista, who resides in Mexico City, drops to 20-14-2, 16 KOs. The 32-year-old has now dropped his last seven fights.
In welterweight action, Ricardo Robledo, a 19-year-old who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Mission Hills, dropped Michael Meyers once in the third round en route to a unanimous decision victory. Scores were 59-54, 59-54 and 60-53 for Robledo, who improves to 4-0, 2 KOs.
Meyers, a Los Angeles resident, drops to 3-2, 2 KOs.
Junior middleweight Jesus Gonzalez, who was born and raised a few miles away in Santa Ana, knocked out Hugo Sanchez (0-2) of Madera, California in the second round.
Two MMA fights rounded out the card promoted by Roy Englebrecht.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
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