By Keith Idec

Samuel Clarkson delivered on his promise to prove Jerry Odom was the wrong fighter attracting attention heading into their televised fight Friday night.

The 24-year-old Clarkson (15-3, 9 KOs), a light heavyweight from Cedar Hill, Texas, scored an upset by dropping Odom three times and winning by third-round technical knockout in a scheduled eight-round fight at Sands Bethlehem in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Clarkson became the first fighter to floor Odom in Odom’s 16-bout career when the determined southpaw landed a crushing right uppercut late in the second round. Odom (13-2, 12 KOs, 1 NC), of Washington, D.C., got up to answer referee Shawn Clark’s count and made it to the end of the round.

Clarkson attacked Odom as soon as the third round began and floored the supposed puncher among the two boxers again with a right uppercut. Odom reached his feet quickly once again, but got knocked down for the third time in the fight, right before the first minute expired in the third round. Although Odom made it to his feet again, Clark stopped the fight soon thereafter, with Odom on his feet, as Clarkson landed an array of power punches, including yet another right uppercut. The time of the stoppage was 1:15 of the third round.

The 22-year-old Odom’s lone previous loss was a disqualification defeat to Andrew Hernandez, whom Odom hit after the bell in the fourth round of a scheduled six-rounder Jan. 9 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Odom avenged that defeat by knocking out Phoenix’s Hernandez (9-1-1, 1 KO, 1 NC) in the first round March 13 in Westbury, N.Y.

Clarkson, who was four pounds overweight Friday (172¼ pounds), has now defeated Odom and light heavyweight contender Cedric Agnew (27-2, 14 KOs) in two of his three fights this year.

The Clarkson-Odom fight was the first of four Showtime was scheduled to televise as part of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” quadrupleheader.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.