Egidijus Kavaliauskas was able to accomplish quite a bit against one of the fastest rising young talents in the game today.

What the ‘Mean Machine’ couldn’t figure out, however, was a way to survive and conquer Vergil Ortiz Jr.

An entertaining welterweight battle saw Ortiz (18-0, 18KOs) endure an early scare before scoring five knockdowns en route to an eighth-round stoppage win. Kavaliauskas was down in round three and four times in round eight before suffering a stoppage defeat at 2:59 of round eight in their DAZN headliner Saturday evening live from The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

“I came here to fight, I was sure I would stop him,” Kavaliauskas said after the loss, his second in three fights. “I prepared myself so hard to be ready for this fight. I was 100% in shape, I was fast, I was strong. But you know, it is what it is.

“I was thinking that I was going to end the fight in the second round, but he survived. He is a warrior.”

Lithuania’s Kavaliauskas (22-2-1, 18KOs) entered as a stern test for the 23-year-old Ortiz, the 2019 krikya360.com Prospect of the Year who has emerged as a top welterweight contender. The bout was his second since a failed title bid versus three-division and reigning WBO welterweight titlist Terence Crawford, nearly dropping the pound-for-pound entrant in round three before suffering a ninth-round stoppage in Dec. 2019.

History threatened to repeat itself, with Kavaliauskas rocking Ortiz late in round two though unable to capitalize. Ortiz turned the tide with a knockdown in round three, essentially taking over the fight before closing the show in front of a partisan crowd.

“[Ortiz] was stronger, he is a tremendous fighter,” admitted Kavaliauskas. “He has good power and good speed, good jab, good technique, he is a good fighter."

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