Edwin De Los Santos was too much for Jose Valenzuela from the opening bell.
The Dominican lightweight prospect landed hard, accurate shots almost at will, put his Mexican opponent down twice and stopped him at 1:08 of the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder on the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Luis Ortiz card Sunday in Los Angeles.
De Los Santos (15-1, 14 KOs) was able to connect with his quick, punishing jab and sharp combinations from the opening bell, which put Valenzuela (12-1, 8 KOs) on his heels.
The Mexican fought bravely but couldn’t avoid De Los Santos’ punches or land enough to his own to turn the tide.
The second round was wild, as both fighters went down. De Los Santos also lost a point for punching Valenzuela while he was down.
None of that mattered, however, Valenzuela was clearly hurt as the bell rang for the start of Round 3. And De Los Santos took advantage, putting Valenzuela down once more.
Valenzuela was able to get to his feet but he was in trouble. All it took for a hard combination to his head to convince referee Ray Corona to stop the fight.
Valenzuela, a rising contender, will now have to rebuild. Meanwhile, De Los Santos made a big statement on a big stage. He can expect to be ranked after this fight.
