Australian boxer Jeff Horn is hoping for a top ten position after blasting higher-ranked opponent Richmond Djarbeng aside in three rounds.
Horn 27, improved to 10-0-1, with 8 KOs with an emphatic performance in his first fight following a six-month layoff caused by a broken hand.
He dropped the WBA 11th ranked fighter and WBA Pan African champion once in the second round and twice in the third.
It was Djarbeng's first loss in almost nine years following a run of 19 straight wins.
Looking light on his feet and relaxed, WBA 15th-ranked Horn dictated terms with his speed and power.
In the New Zealand city of Palmerston North, the WBA Oriental and PABA welterweight title holder landed the two best shots of the opening round, a cracking left to the head followed later by a strong right.
Djarbeng (19-3-1, 15 KOs) tried to hold to prevent Horn hitting him, but was floored 40 seconds from the end of the second round by a left hook and a follow up right.
He was floored again halfway through the third and again a few seconds later, after which Australian referee Brad Vocale stopped the bout.
Two other Australian-based fighters on the undercard suffered convincing defeats against former New Zealand Commonwealth Games representatives.
Gold Coast resident Luke Travers (2-2, 1 KO) was dropped twice and stopped in the second round by Bowyn Morgan (4-0, 2 KOs)in a junior middleweight contest.
And Adelaide-based Nigerian Friday Nwaiwu (3-6-1, 0 KOs) was knocked out in the second round of a super middleweight bout by a crunching left hand from Joe Blackbourn (9-0-1, 9 KOs), who he drew with in their first bout back in March.
Australasian boxing's other hot prospect, New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker, also had a quick and impressive win.
The Las Vegas-based Aucklander improved to 14-0 with 12 KOs and retained his PABA and WBA Oriental titles with a second round knockout of German-based Turk Yakup "The Scorpion" Saglam.
Meanwhile, Horn gave himself a pass mark for his performance.
The Queenslander said his hand felt fine and he would be able to back up in six weeks time.
He said he knew as early as the first round he had Djarbeng in trouble.
"I didn't actually feel like I hit him that hard but I was watching him carefully and he was a bit wobbly," Horn said.
Asked where he hoped the win would take him Horn said "hopefully into the top 10, if not very close to".
"But this guy was ranked quite highly in the WBA, higher than me, so at least take his spot if not higher."
Ukraine's IBF 14th-rated and WBO 10th-ranked Viktor Plotnykov is among the prospective opponents for his next fight.
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