TEMECULA, Calif. – Middleweight standout Rob Brant once again made short work of his opponent. This time it was Chris Fitzpatrick.

Brant dominated the overmatched Fitzpatrick, dropping him twice to earn a third-round knockout win on Friday before a near-sellout crowd at the Pechanga Resort and Casino.

Brant, who is ranked in the top 10 in two of boxing’s sanctioning bodies, improves to 21-0, 14 knockouts. Fitzpatrick drops to 15-5, 6 KOs.

Originally from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, Brant lives and trains in the Dallas area. He regularly spars with welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr.

Brant scored a memorable knockout earlier this year over Decarlo Perez, one that many publications rank as one of the top knockouts of 2016.

From the opening bell, Fitzpatrick felt the impact of Brant’s punches. He was momentarily stunned from a barrage of punches near the end of the first round, but the worse was yet to come for Fitzpatrick, who has lost five of his last six bouts.

With about a minute left, a right-left combination dropped Fitzpatrick to the canvas. The momentum of the fall almost sent Fitzpatrick onto the floor, but he managed to stay on the canvas.

The end came in the following round when a right-left combination dropped Fitzpatrick to the canvas. Fitzpatrick looked as though he beat the count, but referee Eddie Hernandez stopped the bout at 1:18.

Brant has knocked out his last three opponents.

Halili overwhelms Odamattey

In the co-feature, hard-hitting junior middleweight Skender Halili made quick work of Ben Odamattey, stopping him in the opening round.

Halili goes to 11-1, 11 KOs. Odamattey drops to 16-15-3, 9 KOs.

Halili, who had a five-inch height advantage, hurt Odamattey with a right cross to the head. Moments later, Odamattey was dropped by a barrage of punches. Odamattey beat the count, but was hurt again by another right cross to the head. Odamattey staggered backwards, prompting referee Ray Corona to wave the fight over at 1:17.

Kilic stops Fenderson

Super middleweight prospect Cem Kilic knocked out Jerhad Fenderson in the second round.

Kilic improves to 6-0, 3 KOs, while Fendeson falls to 1-1.

After an even opening round, Kilic began to break Fenderson down with repeated right hands to the head in the second round. Kilic stunned Fenderson with a barrage of punches against the ropes, eventually dropping him with a left hook to the head. Fenderson beat the count, but referee Eddie Hernandez stopped the bout at 1:50.

Hawkins upends Gee

Welterweight prospect Malik Hawkins dominated Sean Gee over four rounds, winning a one-sided decision.

The southpaw Gee (3-5) mostly pressed the action, but paid for it by repeatedly getting hit with hooks and crosses by the more-accurate Hawkins. Even as Gee tried to fight on the inside, Hawkins scored repeatedly with uppercuts to the head.

All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Hawkins, who improves to 9-0, 7 KOs.

Non-televised action:

In a battle of southpaw lightweights making their pro debuts, Erick Fowler survived a third round knockdown to stop Will Davis at 39 seconds of the fourth round.

Junior bantamweight Danny Andujo of Temecula was successful in his pro debut, knocking out Israel Hernandez (1-3-1) at 55 seconds of the first round.

In the opening bout of the Greg Cohen Promotions card, bantamweight Jarico O’Quinn (3-0, 2 KOs) won a four round unanimous decision over Jonathan Quiroz (6-4, 1 KO). All three judges scored the bout 39-37 in favor of O’Quinn.

Featherweight Roberto Meza (3-0, 1 KO) won a four round unanimous decision over Jose Naranjo (3-3-1, 1 KO). All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Meza.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV 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