Rafael Espinoza didn’t waste any time in racking up his latest win.
The 6’1” featherweight prospect from Guadalajara, Mexico made quick work of overmatched foe Alie Laurel, scoring two knockdowns en route to a first-round knockout Saturday evening at Plaza Monumental in Tijuana, Mexico. Espinoza sent Laurel to the canvas mere seconds into the fight, with a following up knockdown ending the fight at 1:35 of round one.
Laurel’s only value heading into the fight was the fact that he’d never been stopped through more than 11 years as a pro. The 30-year-old Filipino southpaw can no longer boast that claim, as a grazing left hand sent him to the canvas within the first 30 seconds of the fight, which was his first in North America.
Espinoza remained on the attack, making proper use of his seven-inch height advantage in getting plenty of leverage on his punches. Laurel (18-7-1, 11KOs) had nothing to offer in return and seemingly resigned to defeat after catching a counter left hook to the temple by Espinoza (18-0, 15KOs), who has now stopped 10 of his last 11 opponents.
Espinoza-Laurel opened a four-fight DAZN telecast headlined by former WBO junior middleweight titlist Jaime Munguia (38-0, 30KOs) versus D’Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1, 13KOs) in a scheduled 12-round battle of unbeaten middleweights.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox