Heavyweight Chris Arreola caught Joey Abell with a crushing right hand in the first round, then
Arreola (30-2, 26 KOs) then kissed a dazed Abell (27-4, 26 KOs) on the cheek before returning to his corner.
Coming off the first two losses of his career to Tomasz Adamek and Vitali Klitschko in two of his last four fights, Arreola left little doubt about his power, handing Abell, from Minnesota, his earliest exit.
"This is just one fight," said Arreola. "I have a lot more to prove. I have a lot more to prove to fans, a lot more to prove to everybody who doubted me. ... This is just one fight. It doesn't mean nothing."
Arreola said he noticed that Abell was leaning in and everytime he threw a punch, he pulled back. "When he threw the left hook and pulled back, the right hand was open for me. All I had to do was just keep my balance and make sure I didn't misuse my punches."
Asked about kissing Abell after knocking him senseless, Arreola said, "I don't know, man, I was just happy. I wanted to thank him in one way or another, so I just kissed him. That just happens."
Arreola said he believes he will still become a world champion. "I didn't do it in 2010, but in 2011, in every fight I'm going to show my dedication."
Arreola talked about the difference his new trainer, highly respected Ronnie Shields, made for him. "The main thing is, everyone knows I'm a fighter already. There's not too much to change about me, but the main thing is he fixed my flaws. As you saw, when I threw the right hand, I was balanced. I stepped with my foot and made sure I got everything I could out of it. My balance, my throwing punches, my jabs and making sure I moved my head. 'Cause I'm ugly, you know, and I don't want to get any uglier."
In the undercard match, junior welterweight Josesito Lopez (29-3, 17 KOs) handed Mike Dallas Jr. (17-1-1, 7 KOs) his first loss, stopping the 24-year-old at 1:47 of the seventh round. Despite a nasty cut on his forehead from an accidental headbutt, Lopez was the busier fighter in the middle rounds before putting Dallas away with a powerful left hook in the seventh. Lopez, from Riverside, Calif., won his seventh in a row since a majority decision loss to Edgar Santana in 2008.
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