ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Steven Torres delivered the redemptive performance he promised in his rematch with James Evans on Saturday night.

The 6-foot-7, 239-pound heavyweight stopped the previously unbeaten Evans in the third round of their scheduled six-rounder on the Jaron Ennis-Roiman Villa undercard at Boardwalk Hall’s Adrian Phillips Theater. Torres (6-0-1, 6 KOs), of Reading, Pennsylvania, buzzed Evans with a right hand less than a minute into the third round and continued to land unanswered punches on him until referee Eric Dali stepped between them to stop their bout.

The official time of the stoppage was 1:08 of the third round. Evans (6-1-1, 6 KOs), of Toledo, Ohio, was on his feet when Dali stopped their fight, but he was clearly hurt and wasn’t throwing punches back at Torres.

Torres and the 6-foot-5, 225½-pound Evans fought to a four-round split draw in January 2022 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Torres fought for the first time Saturday night since his draw with Evans, who won two bouts by knockout in between his fights with Torres.

In the round before their rematch ended, a straight right by Evans backed Torres into the ropes with just under a minute to go in the second round. Evans’ jarring jab snapped back Torres’ head with just under 1:50 on the clock in the second round.

Torres worked well off his stiff jab during the first round. He landed a short right hand with about 20 seconds to go in the first round, but Evans previously landed two left hooks as Torres pressed forward.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.