Jousce Gonzalez went deep to earn his latest knockout win.

The unbeaten lightweight prospect scored three knockdowns en route to a sixth-round stoppage of Jairo Lopez. Gonzalez had down Lopez in round two and twice in round three, before forcing the fight’s end at 2:29 of round six

In their DAZN-televised co-feature Thursday evening at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.

Gonzalez delivered a complete performance, working behind a job and particularly effective to the body. A left hook downstairs floored Lopez late in round two, though the Mexican veteran beat the count and made it to the bell.

Lopez was in trouble early in round three. Gonzalez landed a left hook to ignite a flurry, punctuated by a straight right which drove Lopez into the ropes. Referee Eddie Hernandez ruled it a knockdown, insisting that the ropes broke Lopez’s fall. Gonzalez had him down midway for a third time midway through the round, though Lopez showed heart and will in avoiding a stoppage.

Gonzalez was met with brief adversity as a clash of heads left him with a cut just outside his right eye. Lopez did his best to fight way back into the fight, though it was only enough to allow the bout to continue as Gonzalez was piling up rounds.

The end came late in round six, when an uppercut by Gonzalez (12-0-1, 11KOs) snapped back the head of Lopez (26-15, 17KOs). It was enough for the referee, who stopped the contest on the spot.

Gonzalez is the younger brother of two-time featherweight challenger Joet Gonzalez.  

Manuel Flores made the most of his hometown debut, tearing through Tijuana’s Victor Ruiz in a third-round knockout. Flores scored three knockdowns on the night, the last of which produced a stoppage at 2:21 of round three in their bantamweight battle.

A patient approach was taken by Flores, a 23-year-old southpaw from nearby Coachella who is a stablemate of and chief sparring partner for unified WBA/IBF junior featherweight titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Ruiz was game early but was outboxed in the first and second round before finding himself on the defensive in a hurry.

Flores opened up his attack, sending Ruiz to the canvas twice within the first 90 seconds of round three. Ruiz bravely beat the count each time but was clearly wearing down. Flores landed a combination upstairs to send Ruiz to the canvas for a third time, prompting an immediate halt to the contest.

Jorge Chavez had the honor of appearing in the opening fight of the first Golden Boy Fight Night show since the pandemic, making quick work of Mexico City’s Jonathan Tejeda. San Diego’s Chavez earned a second-round knockout in their featherweight bout. A body shot put Tejeda (0-2, 0KOs) down for the full ten count at 1:04 of round two.

Chavez signed with Golden Boy prior to turning pro on the Jaime Munguia-Gabriel Rosado undercard last November 13 in Anaheim, California. The 22-year-old earned a knockout in his pro debut on that show, now moving to 2-0 (2KOs) after making quick work of Tejeda.

Jan Salvatierra returned to the win column with a second-round knockout of Ernie Marquez. The 22-year-old Los Cabos native floored Marquez (10-18-2, 3KOs) with a right hand to the body, producing the bout’s lone knockdown. Marquez rolled his right ankle on the way to the canvas, prompting the referee to immediately stop the contest at 2:29 of round two.

Salvatierra (8-1, 4KOs) suffered a fifth-round knockout loss in his previous outing on the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant non-televised undercard last November 6 in Las Vegas.

All bouts appeared as part of a five-fight telecast headlined by a scheduled ten-round lightweight between Palmdale, California’s Joel Diaz Jr. (26-2, 22KOs) and former title challenger Mercito Gesta (32-3-3, 17KOs) of San Diego.

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