Miguel Berchelt went all the way home to pick up his first win in more than three years.

The former WBC junior lightweight champion ended a two-fight skid with a second-round stoppage victory over Argentina’s Diego Ruiz. The lightweight bout was stopped prior to the start of round three, when a right hand injury left Ruiz unable to continue in their DAZN-aired main event Saturday in Berchelt’s hometown of Merida, Mexico.

The bout was the first for Berchelt since a sixth-round knockout defeat to Jeremia Nakathila in a stunningly one-sided affair last March 26 in Las Vegas. Berchelt sought to bounce back that night from a brutal tenth-round knockout defeat to countryman Oscar Valdez in February 2021 to end his lengthy WBC 130-pound title reign.

Even a faded version of Berchelt was never a threat to lose to Ruiz, a made-to-order and undersized junior lightweight who only added three pounds to his frame for their lightweight affair.

Berchelt imposed his will on Ruiz and connected virtually at will. The 31-year-old Mexican hurt Ruiz with his left hooks both upstairs and to the body, and also landed a heavy right hand. Ruiz responded with a right hand over the top but was barely felt by the former titlist.

Ruiz was not given any space to operate as Berchelt made the ring a very small place in round two. The offense was free-flowing by the local favorite as Ruiz already looked like a defeated fighter. Berchelt walked down Ruiz and forced him on the defensive without any fear of incoming punches versus his reluctant foe. Berchelt landed a right uppercut and left hook that clearly hurt Ruiz (24-8-1, 12KOs), who somehow managed to remain on his feet.

What he wasn’t able to do, however, was continue after just two rounds of one-sided action.

The win is the first for Berchelt since a June 2020 non-title fight without fans in attendance due to the pandemic. It was his first victory in front of a crowd since a November 2019 knockout victory over Jason Sosa, which marked the sixth defense of the WBC 130-pound title he claimed in a January 2017 knockout win over Francisco Vargas.

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