New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker barely broke a sweat to defeat American Daniel Martz by technical knockout in the first round of their bout.
Parker's unblemished record, which now stands at 17-0 with 15 knockouts, was hardly put to the test as he ended the fight with a right cross that landed flush to the side of Martz's head just under two minutes into the opening round.
The 2.03m Martz (14-2-1) - nicknamed 'The Mountain' - is the tallest opponent Parker has faced and bravely rose from the canvas to beat the count but was clearly unable to continue on wobbly legs.
It was the perfect finish to a night that marked Parker's rise to 10th in IBF heavyweight rankings, with promoter Dean Lonergan insisting a highly anticipated world title bout could be locked in as early as July.
"Vyacheslav Glazkov, who's the current number one, will fight Charles Martin and very soon we could be fighting for the heavyweight title of the world in the IBF," he said.
"The actual fight will take some time to get but we can get there in eight months."
After his fifth win of 2015 - following knockout wins over American Jason Pettaway, German Yakup Saglam, Bowie Tupou and Kali Meehan - Parker didn't hide his desire to take on the current world champion Tyson Fury, but insisted he'll be patient.
"I'm happy that all these guys support me and think that I'm ready for it, I know I've still got a lot to work on," Parker said.
"But we're not too far behind. I think with the plan we have in place we can get there very soon."
The win saw Parker retain his four belts ahead of his next matchup against American Jason Bergman (25-11-2) in Samoa in January.
Earlier in the night, former All Blacks winger Zac Guildford was soundly beaten by reality TV star Art Green in a unanimous decision.
The 11-Test World Cup winner will play for the Waratahs in next year's Super Rugby competition but found his first experience in the ring to be a tough one after he stumbled through three rounds and took some heavy shots to the head.
Former Silver Fern shooter Irene van Dyk easily overcame Napier accountant Belinda Sommerville stopping her opening in the first round.
Share
