LAS VEGAS – Former two-time WBC super middleweight world titlist Anthony Dirrell came into his fight with “Madman” Marcos Hernandez in the co-feature of the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant undisputed super middleweight championship fight hoping a strong performance would persuade the main event winner to give him another title shot.

Whether the winner will do that remains to be seen, but Dirrell did his part, dominating Hernandez before scoring a spectacular one-punch knockout in the fourth round on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

That uppercut 👀@Anthonydirrell KOs Hernandez in the 4th round 💪#DirrellHernandez | Order #CaneloPlant: https://t.co/aJWtgepYSl pic.twitter.com/49K5cDhLsS

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) November 7, 2021

“We worked hard for it,” Dirrell said. “If I give a 100 percent I can do it. I went in the gym and worked every day for the past two months and we got it done. I’m moving on. I’m ready for something bigger.”

Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs), 37, of Flint, Michigan, who is trained by SugarHill Steward, started very fast, taking it to Hernandez immediately and landing several solid shots and dominating the first round.

Dirrell scored an impressive KO. Photo by German Villasenor

He continued to have his way and then in the fourth round, Dirrell wound up with a right uppercut and nailed Hernandez clean. Hernandez (15-5-2, 3 KOs), 28, of Fresno, California, dropped to his knees and then onto his back. He barely beat the count but he was wobbling badly and referee Celestino Ruiz waved it off at 22 seconds as Dirrell celebrated.

“I knew he was getting tired from body shots,” Dirrell said. “I put an uppercut right on the button. We practiced that in the gym and it worked.”

The win got Dirrell back into the win column after going 0-1-1 in his previous two bouts, including losing his 168-pound title to David Benavidez by ninth-round corner stoppage when he was unable to continue due to a bad cut by his right eye in September 2019 followed by a disputed draw with Kyrone Davis in February.

Now, Dirrell wants the main event winner.

“It will make a good fight with the winner of the next fight,” Dirrell said.

Vargas cruises past Baez

Rey Vargas sticks Leo Baez with his long jab. Photo by German Villasenor

Former WBC junior featherweight world titlist Rey Vargas, who was returning from a 2½-year layoff caused by a promotional change, the coronavirus pandemic and a broken left leg, vowed he would show no rust after such a long sabbatical in his move up to featherweight against Leonard Baez.

Vargas was right. He looked sharp as he easily outpointed Baez with ease: 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91 in a fight in which he took command from the outset and cruised.

Vargas, who was much taller and longer than Baez, stuffed jab after jab in his face and also threw hooks to the body. Baez could not get inside virtually at all and missed constantly with wild shots that fell short.

Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs), 30, of Mexico, had his for virtually every moment of the fight. He landed many left hook-right hand combinations and body shots against Baez (21-5, 12 KOs), 26, of Mexico, who gave a good effort but was outgunned by a more talented opponent.

Vargas, who held the WBC 122-pound title from 2017 to 2019 and defended it five times, now is in a mandatory position to fight the winner of a fight ordered between WBC featherweight titlist Gary Russell Jr. and current mandatory challenger Mark Magsayo.

Rodriguez knocks out Romero
Junior welterweight Elvis Rodriguez started anew with a destructive left hand that knocked out Juan Pablo Romero in the fifth round.

Elvis is BACK in the building. Photo by German Villasenor

It was a big bounce-back win for Rodriguez (12-1-1, 11 KOs), 25, a big-punching southpaw from the Dominican Republic. He was a highly touted prospect being brought along by Top Rank, but after he lost an eight-round majority decision to Kenneth Sims Jr. on May 22, Top Rank released him.

However, Premier Boxing Champions chief Al Haymon quickly signed him and he had his first fight under that deal as he blasted out Romero (14-1, 9 KOs), 31, a 2016 Mexican Olympian.

It was a fast-paced action fight throughout. In the third round, the Freddie Roach-trained Rodriguez dropped Romero with two lefts and a right that sent him reeling and then to his knees in a corner. He beat the count but looked weary.

In the fifth round, Rodriguez connected with the powerful left to Romero’s face and he dropped the mat. He got to his rear end but made no attempt to rise. He shook his head as referee Robert Hoyle counted him out at 2 minutes, 59 seconds.

“I am fully aware that I started out slow in the first two rounds, but then I saw signs of wear and tear on his face and I gained the upper hand,” Rodriguez said through an interpreter. “Romero is a fast starter by nature, but I’m the other way around. Then I was able to straighten out. The division already knows who I am after having seen most of my fights. I suffered a little setback, but I think that everyone knows that Elvis Rodriguez brings powerful, quality punches in each fight.”

Romero admitted that he decided not to get up.

“I’ve got to give my opponent credit. It’s never just about you. I decided to not put my health on the line anymore in order to come back and fight again in the future. Tonight just wasn’t my night.

“Rodriguez landed some good punches, and it’s not worth it to risk your life for a fight. Right now, we are focused on getting healthy in order to come back with twice the effort and discipline.”

Diaz drills Salvatierra

Junior bantamweight Fernando Diaz (10-1-1, 3 KOs), 21, of Riverside, California, scored a crushing one-punch knockout of Jan Salvatierra (7-1, 3 KOs), 22, of Mexico, in the fifth round.

Salvatierra got the better of the action early on but in the fifth round, after referee Michael Ortega gave Diaz a hard warning for pulling Salvatierra’s head down, he landed a clean left hand that Salvatierra never saw.

He beat the count but was extremely shaky and when he tried to take a step forward, he fell into the ropes and to his knees, causing Ortega to stop the fight at 2 minute, 16 seconds.

Meza upsets Gomez
Junior lightweight Jose Antonio Meza (7-6, 2 KOs), 25, of Mexico, survived a first-round knockdown and handed Huntington Park, California’s Jose Gomez (12-1, 5 KOs) his first defeat. The three judges all scored 76-75.

Gomez got off to a strong start when he landed a right hand that dropped Meza in the first round, although Meza did not seem badly hurt, and Gomez did not come close to finishing him despite his efforts.

Meza shook it off and got himself into the fight that had several close rounds. Gomez, who was coming off a two-year layoff, tried to pick up the pace in the final round in an effort to get a stoppage but he did not come close and Meza took home the surprise win.

Meza ended a two-fight losing streak.

Velazquez shuts out Mendoza
Junior bantamweight Joselito Velazquez, a 2016 Mexican Olympian, got in a good workout against game journeyman Gilberto Mendoza in a shutout decision victory. All three judges scored the fight 80-72.

Velazquez and Mendoza (19-11-3, 10 KOs), 32, of San Francisco, spent most of the fight engaged in the middle of the ring, but Velazquez was superior in every sense – with his jab, hooks and body work in.

The win was the first for Velazquez (14-0-1, 9 KOs), 28, since a disappointing majority eight-round draw with novice Carlos Mejia in May.

Barthelemy crushes Vittori
Former junior lightweight and lightweight world titlist Rances Barthelemy demolished journeyman Gustavo Vittori (25-10-1, 12 KOs), 32, a southpaw from Argentina, knocking him out in the second round of a stay-busy fight in the opening bout of the card.

Barthelemy (29-1-1, 15 KOs), 26, a Cuban defector fighting out of Las Vegas, who last fought in January, controlled the first round and then scored a pair of knockdowns in the second round. After the second knockdown, the culmination of a series of clean shots, referee Michael Ortega waved off the fight without a count at 1 minute, 54 seconds.

They fought at 143 pounds, although Barthelemy, who lost a junior welterweight title bout to Kiryl Relikh by decision a 2018 rematch, hopes to land another chance to fight for a belt at 140 pounds.