Eduardo ‘Rocky’ Hernandez put an end to the upset ways of Jorge David Castaneda.

An explosive junior featherweight fight broke out from the opening bell, with Hernandez closing the show with a first-round knockout. Castaneda was floored midway through, with an ensuing volley forcing the stoppage at 1:35 of round one in their DAZN-aired co-feature Friday evening at Domo Alcalde in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Castaneda earned a reputation as a prospect slayer, bumping off unbeaten junior lightweights Otha Jones III and Youssef Khoumari in consecutive bouts heading into this bout. Hernandez reminded the Texan that he was far beyond the prospect level, once on the cusp of a title shot only to suffer an upset knockout loss of his own.

Nothing was left to chance in this free-swinging affair, with Hernandez launching uppercuts and left hooks from the opening bell. Castaneda tasted the power of the hard-hitting Mexico City native in the first thirty seconds of the contest but waded through the early storm to briefly stun Hernandez with a left hook.

Hernandez took the shot well and landed with a bomb of his own, flooring Castaneda barely a minute into the fight. Castaneda (15-2, 12KOs) managed to peel himself off the canvas in time to beat the count but was no longer able to keep Hernandez at bay. Hernandez stormed forward, applying relentless pressure until the fight was mercifully brought to a halt.  

The win is the fourth in a row for Hernandez (32-1, 29KOs)—all by knockout—since suffering a stunning first-round knockout loss to Roger Gutierrez in July 2019. Gutierrez has since captured the WBA junior lightweight title, which he is set to defend versus mandatory challenger Hector Garcia on July 10 at home in Venezuela.

Hernandez would love nothing more than to run it back.

“I write that fight off as a bad night,” Hernandez told DAZN’s Claudia Trejos. “I’m ready right now for a rematch and to get my revenge.”

The evening’s main event is a WBA junior flyweight title consolidation clash between “Super” champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (15-0, 10KOs) and secondary ‘World’ titlist Esteban Bermudez (14-3-2, 10KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox