Argentinian welterweight prospect Alberto Palmetta overcame a slow start to stop Tre’Sean Wiggins in six rounds on Saturday night at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.

With the victory, Palmetta improves to 14-1 (10 knockouts) and he has now won eight consecutive bouts by knockout.

Palmetta had not fought since November 15, when he knocked out Mexico’s Erik Vega Ortiz in the final round of a competitive fight. Despite just one victory in his previous four outings, Wiggins figured to give Palmetta a decent test.

Wiggins was the more effective fighter early on in the all-southpaw clash. The 30-year-old outboxed Palmetta by initiating exchanges and connecting with his left hand.

Palmetta closed the distance between the two in Round 3, putting Wiggins on the defensive and forcing him to fight off his back foot. He also mixed his attack, landing combinations to head and body.

Less than a minute into Round 6, Palmetta backed Wiggins against the ropes and dropped him with a left uppercut. Wiggins beat the count but was battered until his corner threw in the towel, prompting referee Frank Santore to stop the contest at 1:24.

“You have to be patient, and I showed everyone that I was able to box intelligently,” said Palmetta, who is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz. “I want to be a world champion.”

Wiggins, who resides in Newburgh, New York, drops to 11-5-3 (6 KOs).

Undercard

In the co-feature bout, junior middleweight Francisco Torres defeated Cleotis ‘Mookie’ Pendarvis by eight-round unanimous decision.

Scores were 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74 for Torres (15-3, 5 KOs), who has now won his last seven bouts.

The taller Torres rained punches down on the southpaw Pendarvis, who connected on occasional lead and counter lefts. Torres was the more effective fighter in the second half, taking advantage of his reach to neutralize Pendarvis’ offense.

Pendarvis, who resides in Lancaster, California, drops to 21-6-2 (9 KOs).

Promoter of the card was former world champion Christy Martin, who worked in association with Payne Boxing.

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

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