Sunday 17 April 2016 13:56, UK
WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. demolished Ireland's Patrick Hyland inside two rounds to successfully defend his title in Connecticut.
The 27-year-old American world champion was making his first defence of the WBC belt more than a year after winning it but he showed no signs of rust at the Foxwoods Resort.
Renowned for the speed of his punching, Russell Jr. landed shots at will as the overmatched 32-year-old from Dublin struggled to keep up.
Hyland did at least connect with a couple of rights in the opening round but the one-sided contest became a rout in round two, as Russell Jr. sent his opponent to the floor with a brutal right.
Soon afterwards, Hyland was sent crashing into the ropes and it was ruled a second knockdown, but Hyland bravely nodded when asked if he could continue, only to be hit with a flurry of punches.
Hyland went down once again and the referee had no hesitation in waving off the contest after 1:33 of the second round.
Russell Jr said afterwards he is keen on unification bouts with IBF champ Lee Selby and WBA title-holder Leo Santa Cruz.
And the American also wants revenge over the one man who has beaten him, the Ukrainian WBO champion Vasyl Lomachenko, who won a majority decision when they met in California in 2014.
"Definitely, all of the above," said Russell Jr. "We'd love to get the fight with Lee Selby and unify.
"Lomachenko, you've got to see me. It's going down."
On the undercard at Foxwoods, former light heavyweight world champion Chad Dawson made a successful return to his home state, stopping Cornelius White in the fourth round.
Once considered the top man in the division, Dawson has slipped down the rankings after suffering four defeats.
However, he had no problems seeing off White, hurting his opponent with a right to the head in the fourth.
White tottered against the ropes and Dawson then stepped in to unload a string of punches which forced the referee to call a halt to proceedings.
