By Jake Donovan

Alan Sanchez took a considerable amount of time off following last September's loss to Luis Collazo. The rest did him plenty of good, as he returned to the ring with a vengeance, scoring a vicious 6th round knockout over Jorge Silva, Friday evening at the Illusions Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. 

The bout was competitive early on, but only in the sense that Sanchez was to going to have to put in work to return to the win column. The Californian was willing to do just that, remaining a step ahead of Silva throughout but also very much in a fight.

Sanchez delivered a sudden and emphatic ending to the fight, connecting with a straight right hand on a wide-open Silva, who crashed to the canvas. The bout was immediately halted, as the 22-year welterweight gatekeeper was in no condition to continue.

The official time was 0:42 of round six. 

Not normally a knockout puncher, Sanchez picks up his most notable win since stopping Artemio Reyes inside of a round more than two years ago. Realizing he needed a career turnaround, Sanchez decided to pay a visit to Southern California, sparring with welterweight contender Josesito Lopez - who returns to the ring next Thursday on ESPN2. 

The upgrade in training paid major dividends for Sanchez, who improves to 13-3-1 (6KO). 

Silva falls to 20-6-2 (16KO). Having turned pro at age 16, the Tijuana-based welterweight is already a well-seasoned veteran just weeks following his 22nd birthday. Just 16 months ago, Silva was lauded for his tough challenge versus Alfredo Angulo. However, the Mexican has now suffered three straight losses, including back-to-back knockouts.

UNDERCARD

Joseph Rodriguez Jr. (6-0, 2KO) scored a unanimous decision win over Francisco Arellano (4-3, 1KO) in their televised swing bout. Scores were 40-36 (three times) in the lone bout of the telecast to go to the scorecards or even make it out of the opening round.

Errol Spence made quick work of overmatched Raymond Charles, scoring two knockdowns en route to a 1st round knockout in the Fox Sports 1-televised co-feature. 

The pairing suggested a mismatch, and lived up to that scouting report. Spence got the ball rolling early on, scoring with a body shot that sent Charles to the canvas midway through the opening round. The 34-year old journeyman made his way to his feet, but was essentially a punching a bag for the rest of the fight. 

Spence put in work to finish off his foe, remaining active and punching in combination. A flurry of power punches had Charles - now 12-3-2 (5KO), having dropped three straight - trapped along the ropes before finally collapsing under pressure. No count was issued for the second knockdown, as the action was immediately called at  2:52 of round one.

The win advances Spence - from Desoto, Texas - to 12-0 (10KO). The local prospect was the last man standing for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Boxing squad, advancing to the quarterfinals but coming up just short in the London Games. The team as a whole failed to medal on the men's side, the first time in more than 50 years such has been the case for any U.S. Olympic male boxing team. 

Spence has now scored knockouts in seven of his past eight fights, including six 1st round knockouts. 

Travell Manzion continues to be a knockout every time out. The Ann Wolfe-trained super lightweight flattened Antonio Sanchez in the 1st round of the Fox Sports 1-televised opener

A left hook was enough to do the trick for the 18-year old knockout artist, who is based in Austin and has fought exclusively in Texas to this point in his career. Sanchez (2-2-1, 2KO) was out upon impact, convulsing on the canvas as the bout was immedately waived off. 

The official time was 2:23 of round one.

Mazion improves to 8-0 (8KO), having yet to be extended beyond the third round of any given fight since turning pro just 51 weeks ago.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of krikya360.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox