Making his first appearance in almost three years, former two division belt holder Mikey Garcia (35-0, 29 KOs) stopped former WBC World featherweight champion Elio Rojas (24-3, 14 KOs)
in the 5th round on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Garcia, 28, knocked Rojas down five times in the fight in dropping him twice in round three, once in round four, and two more times in the fifth. The fight was halted at 2:02 of the 5th by referee Eddie Claudio.
Rojas was fighting for the first time in two year, but he looked surprisingly sharp. He used movement, and a nice right hand to get the better of Garcia in the first two rounds. Garcia was just waiting, and waiting and looking for one big punch.
In the third round, Garcia caught Rojas with a right hand that stunned him. Garcia then followed up with a hard left hook to put him down on the canvas. A short while later, Garcia knocked Rojas down for the second time in the round with a right hand to the head. For his part, Rojas landed a solid right hand to the head of Garcia, which he took well.
Garcia knocked Rojas down with a hard right hand to the head in the 4th round. Rojas got to his feet and was angry at himself for being caught by the punch.
In the 5th round, Garcia flattened Rojas with a right to the head. Moments later, Garcia knocked Rojas down for the fifth and final time with a left hook to the head. The referee stopped the fight after asking Rojas if he wanted to continue. Rojas reportedly didnโt want to continue.
Garcia looked good for a fighter coming off a 2 1/2 year layoff from the ring. Heโd been out of the ring due to promotional issues with his former promoter Top Rank.
