Alexis Rocha delivered a brutal beatdown Saturday in Indio, California.
The 147-pounder contender capped a dominating performance by stopping overmatched Anthony Young in the fifth round of a scheduled 12-rounder at Fantasy Springs Casino.
Roach (23-1, 15 KOs) bolstered his position as the WBO’s No. 1 contender, behind only champion Terence Crawford.
ALEXIS ROCHA ENDS IT 🔥#RochaYoung pic.twitter.com/ExXdATCVEB
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 28, 2023
“I’m very hard on myself,” he said. “.. I give myself about a ‘C’.” I still know I can develop a lot more. And we’re going to go from here.”
Everyone else would’ve given him a better grade.
The lefthander broke down Young (24-3, 8 KOs) with effective pressure, pounding his body incessantly and connecting on one powerful left to the head after another.
Young had success countering here and there but he couldn’t keep Rocha off of him and couldn’t avoid the winner’s big bombs.
The end came in an instant when Rocha landed a hard left that sent Young into the ropes and onto the canvas. He was able to get up but referee Thomas Taylor stopped the fight after looking Young in the eyes.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:15 of Round 5.
Rocha will have to wait to get Crawford into the ring. The titleholder is set to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed welterweight championship on July 29 in Las Vegas.
Rocha will be an interested observer.
“I’m the WBO mandatory,” he said. “I want the winner [of Crawford-Spence] next. And that’s it.”
