LOS ANGELES — Marcos Maidana stopped Victor Ortiz 46 seconds into the sixth round of a wild junior welterweight fight on Saturday night at Staples Center.

Ortiz was winning the fight on all three cards but could not go on because his left eye was swollen shut.

Maidana (26-1, 25 knockouts) went down three times and Ortiz (24-2-1, 19 KOs) went down once in what might've been a fight-of-the-year candidate had it not ended prematurely.

Ortiz took a right to the face to start the final round and his left eye immediately swelled up, limiting his vision. He went down under a barrage of punches, after which the ring doctor ordered the fight stopped.

Ortiz was leading 48-45 after five full rounds on all three cards.

The fight was for the vacant WBA interim 140-pound title.