Former fringe contender Christopher Martin scored a major upset Thursday night, stopping unbeaten featherweight prospect Daniel Franco at the Exchange LA in Los Angeles.

Martin improved to 30-8-2, with 10 knockouts, while Franco drops to 15-1-3, 10 KOs.

Thursday’s clash was between two Southern California featherweights, Franco resides in Riverside and Martin in the San Diego area.

Franco, who is signed to Roc Nation, dropped Martin in the opening round of the scheduled eight-round bout. Martin was able to recover, but Franco dictated the pace and action in the following round.

Martin, whose last win by knockout occurred almost four years ago, dropped Franco early in round three. Despite being hurt, Franco fought on, but was dropped a second time, prompting a referee stoppage.

“No excuses,” Franco said after the fight. “Martin did what he was supposed to do. I felt good in the first two rounds, but got caught with a very good punch in the third. I congratulate him on his victory, he earned it.”

Despite the surprise setback, Franco is not deterred in one day fulfilling his goal of winning a world title belt.

“This setback sets up a big comeback and I’ll be back in the gym as soon as possible to get better and learn from this experience,” said Franco.

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