Junior lightweight prospect Xavier Martinez wanted to make a statement Friday night.

Mission accomplished.

Martinez scored an emphatic 21 second knockout victory over Jessie Cris Rosales at Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall in Las Vegas. With the win, Martinez improves to 15-0 (11 knockouts).

Friday night marked the first time that the 22-year-old headlined a Mayweather Promotions card. Martinez has displayed power and aggression over the past several months, stopping his previous six opponents.

Rosales entered the Martinez fight having lost three of his previous four bouts, including a knockout defeat at the hands of Shakur Stevenson on Jan. 18.

Martinez landed a straight right hand five seconds into the fight. Moments later, a left hook-right hand combination dropped Rosales flat onto his back. He was in no position to continue and referee Vic Drakulich stopped the bout.

Martinez, who resides in Sacramento, is trained by Ray Woods, stepfather of the late two-weight world titleholder Diego ‘Chico’ Corrales.

Rosales, who resides in Cebu City in the Philippines, drops to 22-4-1 (10 KOs).

Undercard

In the co-feature, welterweight prospect Richardson Hitchins held off a late rally by Kevin Johnson to win by unanimous decision over 10 rounds.

Scores were 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 for Hitchins, who improves to 10-0 (5 KOs).

Hitchins, who resides in New York City, utilized his speed and accuracy to outbox Johnson during this first half of the fight, building a lead early on.

Sensing he was behind, Johnson closed the distance and began landing lead and counter right hands. He won Round 10, but it was too little too late.

Johnson, who resides in Las Vegas, drops to 7-2 (4 KOs).

Super middleweight Kevin Newman of Las Vegas avenged his only setback as a pro, defeating Mark Hernandez by unanimous decision.

The fight was a rematch of their August 2017 fight, which Hernandez won by unanimous decision.

This bout was a different story. Newman was clearly the better fighter and landed the more effective punches throughout. Hernandez (14-3-1, 3 KOs), who resides in Fresno, was aggressive, but Newman responded well with his own power shots.

Scores were 79-73, 79-73 and 80-72 for Newman, who improves to 11-1-1 (6 KOs).

In the opening bout of the ’ShoBox’ telecast, lightweight prospect Rolando Romero made quick work of Juan Carlos Cordones (14-2, 9 KOs). Romero dropped the Dominican Republic native twice in the opening round before the fight was stopped at 2:14. The Las Vegas-based Romero improves to 10-0 (9 KOs).

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

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