By Francisco Salazar

At the WinnaVegas Casino and Resort in Sloan, Iowa, featherweight prospect Jose Haro (14-1-1, 8 KOs) used an overhand right to blast out Daniel “Twitch” Franco (16-2-3, 11 KOs) in eight rounds to pick up the USBA featherweight title.

The bout aired live on the CBS Sports Network.

Franco was still trying to rebuild his career after suffering an unexpected knockout loss to Christopher Martin earlier this year.

The fight against Martin, a former fringe contender who is now a gatekeeper, was supposed to be a showcase fight for Franco on March 23. Everything was according to plan during the fight, with Franco dropping Martin in the opening round.

Then came the third round, when Martin ended matters, dropping Franco twice before the fight was stopped.

In the sink or swim business that is boxing, Franco had no choice but to get up, dust himself off, and get on the proverbial horse that is boxing.

Despite the loss, Franco, who is promoted by Roc Nation, was still considered a strong featherweight prospect. Franco comes from a fighting family (his older brother Michael boxed professionally) and he has gotten great sparring in gyms in and around Southern California.

The 25-year-old Franco returned to the ring on May 12, knocking out Francisco Suarez in the opening round in Ensenada, Mexico.

Haro has fought and defeated modest opposition in recent fights, including one-sided decisions over former junior featherweight contender Efrain Esquivias and Juan Reyes (who lost to Jon Fernandez by knockout Friday night).

Haro, who hails from suburban Salt Lake City, is recovering from a knife attack in September of 2015 outside a grocery story.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for krikya360.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing