Back in December of 2012, Patrick Hyland had the opportunity of a lifetime when he challenged Javier Fortuna for a world title.

While he lost a decision to the still unbeaten Fortuna, Hyland believes he could make another run towards a world title belt.

After sitting out for over a year and a half, Hyland is back in the ring, eager to make the most of another opportunity should it come his way. Based on the result on Wednesday night, he may be on his way.

Hyland stopped Noel Echevarria in the fourth round before an overflow crowd at BB Kings Blues Club and Grill in New York City, N.Y.

The bout headlined a seven-bout “Broadway Boxing” card, presented by DiBella Entertainment.

After Hyland lost to Fortuna, he remained out of the ring, mostly due to promotional issues. Hyland recently signed a promotional contract with Lou DiBella.

From the opening bell, Hyland was the more effective fighter, landing almost at will combinations to the head and body of Echevarria. Undaunted, Echevarria was able to land a fair share of counter or lead left hands to the head of Hyland.

The fight took a dramatic turn in the third round when Hyland’s aggression put Echevarria in defensive mode. Echevarria did little to want to engage with Hyland, who sensed this and took more of an initiative to take the fight to Echevarria.

It was more of the same in the fourth round, as Echevarria did very little with each passing moment. Hyland did not let up, instead forcing Echevarria to turn away after Hyland landed a combination, prompting referee Benji Esteves to wave the fight over at 54 seconds.

Hyland, from Dublin, Ireland, goes to 28-1, 13 KOs. Echevarria, from Winston-Salem, N.C., falls to 11-4, 6 KOs.

Martin wins again
In the co-feature bout, heavyweight prospect Charles Martin dropped Kertson Manswell three times en route to a third-round technical knockout victory.

With 1984 Olympic gold medalist Henry Tillman as his trainer, Martin has slowly improved as a fighter, but is still a long ways away before being seriously considered a legit prospect.

The southpaw Martin was able to use his height and reach to keep Manswell at bay. It did not always work as the crafty Manswell was able to land overhand right crosses to the head of Martin’s head, particularly in the second round.

While Manswell’s attack was effective, it was short-lived. Martin began to impose his will, especially with a minute into the third round when he dropped Manswell to the canvas. Manswell got up and fought back bravely, but was dropped from a series of punches from Martin.

After the second knockdown, referee Arthur Mercante looked as though he was going to stop the fight, but was convinced out of it by Manswell. Mercante allowed the fight to continue, where Manswell made one final stand. He tried to fight back, but was dropped in third time from a barrage of punches from Martin. Mercante saw enough and waved the fight over 2:33.

In other bouts:
– Light heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. (16-1, 13 KOs) stopped Tyrell Hendrix in the third round. Smith dropped Hendrix (11-5-1, 4 KOs) in the second round, courtesy of a right uppercut. Smith hurt Hendrix in the third round and before he could follow up, referee Shada’ Murdaugh stepped in and stopped the bout at 1:45.

– Middleweight Avtandil Khurtsidze stopped Allen Conyers (12-10, 9 KOs) in the first round. Khurtsidze (28-2-2, 17 KOs) hurt Conyers with a combination and was about to follow up before referee Shada’ Murdaugh stepped in and stopped the bout at 1:23.

– Junior middleweight Patrick Day scored a knockdown in the first and second rounds to win by technical knockout in the second round over Brad Jackson. After Day dropped Jackson with a left-right combination to the head, referee Benji Esteves stopped the bout at 15 seconds. Day suffered a flash knockdown in the first round.

– Super middleweight Sergey Derevyanchenko had a successful professional debut when Cromwell Gordon (4-11, 4 KOs) was unable to continue after the second round.

– Welterweight Danny Gonzalez (6-0-1, 3 KOs) won a six round unanimous decision over Ray Velez (3-5-1, 1 KO). Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56 in favor of Gonzalez.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing