Fringe welterweight contender Mauricio Pintor stopped late-sub Miguel Angel Martinez in the second round at the Auditorio Blackberry in his hometown of Mexico City on Friday.

With the win, Pintor improves to 22-3-1 (14 knockouts).

Pintor, who is the nephew of former two-weight world champion Lupe Pintor, was originally scheduled to face Edson Ramirez, but Ramirez weighed seven pounds more than the contracted weight of 147 pounds. The local commission would therefore not approve the fight, so co-promoters All Star Boxing and Producciones Deportivas had to find a suitable replacement.

Martinez, who had been training to face Yomar Alamo, came to the rescue.

With over a minute gone in Round 2, Pintor sent Martinez stumbling into the ropes with a left hook. The same shot landed again and the impact almost doubled the stricken fighter over. Referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia immediately stopped the bout at 1:22.

Pintor, who was jailed for 18 months between 2013 and 2015 for armed robbery (he was later exonerated), has now won five of his last six bouts.

“I was disappointed (Ramirez) did not respect the sport and came in very heavy,” said Pintor after the fight. “Luckily the promoters were able to find a suitable opponent. I worked very hard and prepared to my best for this fight. I know each fight will be more difficult and that’s fine. I want to fight the best and not fight easy opposition.”

Martinez, who resides in Jamay, Mexico, drops to 14-3-1 (10 KOs).

Lightweight Jorge Batalla dropped Omar Solano (8-4, 2 KOs) three times to win by unanimous decision. Batalla dropped Solano twice in the opening round and once more in Round 4. Scores were 40-33 and 39-34 twice for Batalla (4-2, 2 KOs).

In featherweight action, hard-hitting Ernesto Saucedo (7-0, 7 KOs) stopped Erick Cruz (4-6, 1 KO) at 2:07 of the second round.

Junior flyweight Eduardo Maximo defeated Erick Fuentes (1-1) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Maximo, who improves to 1-1. Fuentes defeated Maximo when they squared off on June 14.

In junior lightweight action, Rafael Miranda (3-1, 1 KO) dropped Pedro Jesus Rodriguez (0-2-1) twice en route to a stoppage win at 2:30 of the opening round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing