TEMECULA, California – Another fight card, another candidate for ‘Knockout of the Year.’

Junior lightweight Miguel Angel Gonzalez scored a highlight-reel knockout of fringe contender Saul Rodriguez in round three.

With the victory, Gonzalez, who resides in Los Mochis, Mexico, improves to 25-4 (21 knockouts).

Tonight marked Rodriguez’s third fight with Top Rank after rejoining the promotional company following a stint with Mayweather Promotions. Rodriguez won both fights by knockout.

Gonzalez was thought to be a decent test for Rodriguez, who was fighting near his hometown of Riverside. Entering the Rodriguez fight, Gonzalez had won three of his previous five bouts, with the two losses to fringe contenders Charles Huerta and Jose Lopez.

The fight did not start well for Rodriguez, who was dropped by a lead left hook by Gonzalez within the first 10 seconds of the opening bell. Rodriguez stood up, firing back left hooks and crosses to the head of Gonzalez.

Rodriguez was more-effective in the second round, but continued to get hit with counter left hooks to the head by Gonzalez. Rodriguez did well in the pocket by connecting with several combinations to Gonzalez’s head and body.

A big Counter-Left from Gonzalez knocks out Rodriguez! ?#CommeyBeltran | @ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/J7rMRND6C4

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 29, 2019

Rodriguez looked as though momentum was on his side as his punches began to take their toll on Gonzalez in round three. A right hand stunned Gonzalez midway through the round, prompting Rodriguez to follow up. As he did, Gonzalez unleashed a left hook that landed on Rodriguez’s jaw, dropping him to the canvas. Referee Thomas Taylor immediately stopped the bout at 1:23.

Rodriguez suffers his first loss as a pro, dropping him 23-1-1 (17 KOs).

Lightweight prospect Raymond Muratalla was impressive in stopping Agustine Mauras after the end of the opening round.

The taller and stronger Muratalla (8-0, 6 KOs), who resides in nearby Fontana and is trained by Robert Garcia, rained punches down onto Mauras throughout the round. A left hook to the head dropped Mauras about midway through the round, and while Mauras beat the count, he looked overwhelmed and hurt during the final seconds of the round.

Prior to the start of the second round, Mauras’ corner told referee Rudy Barragan to stop the fight in order to save Mauras from more punishment.

Mauras, who resides in Lawrence, Massachusetts, drops to 6-6-3 (3 KOs).

In a clash of unbeaten junior lightweights, Christopher Zavala, who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Long Beach, defeated Austin’s Prisco Marquez by unanimous decision. The taller and more-aggressive Zavala effectively outboxed Marquez (4-1-1, 1 KO) throughout most of the fight. All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Zavala, who improves to 5-0 (2 KOs).

Former amateur standout Dmitry Yun of Azerbaijan was successful in his pro debut, defeating Mexico’s Jose Antonio Meza (6-4, 1 KO) by unanimous decision. Yun was deducted a point for hitting Meza in the back of the head in round four. All three judges scored the bout 39-36 in favor of Yun.

A scheduled six-round bout between junior welterweight prospect Elvis Rodriguez (2-0-1, 2 KOs) and Joaquin Chavez (9-18-4, 2 KOs) ended in a technical draw at 2:28 of the opening round. An accidental clash of heads open a cut on Chavez’s forehead, where blood gushed out onto the canvas. A ringside physician told referee Thomas Taylor to stop the bout.

In the opening bout of the Top Rank card, middleweight prospect David Kaminsky defeated Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Osbaldo Gonzalez (6-5, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Kaminsky (5-0, 2 KOs), who is originally from Israel and now resides in Los Angeles.

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 FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing