LOS ANGELES—In a battle between unbeaten up-and-comers, Charles Conwell proved he’s the superior 154-pound prospect moving forward, besting Madiyar Ashkeyev after referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight before the tenth and final round began.

The super welterweight bout was fought at a close range and high pace from the beginning, as neither boxer showed any signs of giving in to one another, but Conwell (14-0, 11 KO’s) pulled away in the second half of the fight over Ashkeyev (14-1, 7 KO’s) after his corner couldn’t confidently let him finish the final three minutes with Reiss listening in.

The physical, high-class affair featured shoulder-to-shoulder action, as both boxers stood and traded equally in the beginning.

The 2016 United States Olympian Conwell used space and distance to walk down Ashkeyev and bludgeoned the body, which separated himself clearly from the rough and tumble action that would soon ensue.

Both fighters even wrestled each other down to the canvas midway through the third.

When he wasn’t working the body, the 23-year-old Conwell was blasting off with calculated big right hands to the head of Ashkeyev.

The Cleveland-based Conwell conquered his Kazakh counterpart’s pitbull-like pressure, fighting off his back foot just as admirably as he was with his accurate lead rights.

The Main Events-promoted Ashkeyev fought at one speed, albeit with promising power, but the Dibella Entertainment-promoted Conwell had more levels to his offense.

In a strange sequence in the seventh, Ashkeyev turned his back to Conwell off a break, and started walking to his corner. Conwell noticed that Ashkeyev failed to adhere to the No. 1 rule in boxing -- protect yourself at all times -- and ran up to Ashkeyev with his glove cocked back.

Reiss seemingly saved Ashkeyev from a scary scene by shouting a stop the action.

A stern warning got Ashkeyev’s attention, but it was ultimately the beginning of his end in the fight.

Conwell teed off with a monstrous five-punch combination against the ropes in the eighth, as he started to clearly pull away in the fight.

Trainer Ivan Castañeda warned Ashkeyev that he’d stop the bout heading into the ninth if he didn’t have a better showing, but Reiss took matters into his own hands three minutes later during the break.

The fight was broadcasted on NBC Sports Network as part of Ring City USA’s main event on Thursday, which took place outdoors at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles on a chilly, 55-degree winter night that featured as many gusts of winds as it did punches in bunches.

The event was the third and final card of Ring City USA’s slate of shows, which debuted last month and featured two other broadcasts at the house that Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach built.

Boxing’s newest upstart in Ring City USA is a promoter agnostic one. It’s slated to have 14 shows next year, six before the 2021 Summer Olympics, and eight afterward on NBC Sports Network.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on