By Jake Donovan

Teenage welterweight sensation Saul Alvarez rediscovered his knockout power in a big way, scoring two knockdown en route to a first round blitzing of Raul Pinzon, Friday night at the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Casino in Miami, FL.

The bout was aired live on Boxeo Telemundo.

It was a matchup made in heaven for Alvarez, who had no problems finding Pinzon’s chin at any point during the brief affair. Pinzon employed a herky-jerky style, but one that offered leaky defense and little head movement.

Alvarez didn’t immediately take advantage, spending the first 90 seconds or so measuring up the Colombian. It was that same patience that’s led to the red-headed Mexican going the distance in his last four fights, though on this night, it was well-calculated.

A right hand froze Pinzon along the ropes, leaving him susceptible to additional head shots before falling to the canvas. The bout appeared to be over right then and there, as the Colombian began twitching on the deck, only to suddenly bounce up at the count of eight.

Alvarez went back on the attack, with a right hand kicking off the beginning of the end. Pinzon found himself pinned on the ropes before a flurry of shots, including an overhand right behind the Colombian’s guard, resulted in the second knockdown. Pinzon beat the count, but couldn’t sell referee Pat Russell on the prospect of continuing.

The official time was 2:30 of round one.

Win number 23 caps a busy 2008 for Alvarez, making eight ring appearances in a year that saw him advance from boy to man in celebrating his 18th birthday. Having went 61 rounds in his past six fights, an early night was certainly a welcome experience for the red-headed Mexican southpaw, about as promising a prospect as there is in the sport today.

Pinzon falls to 16-2-0-1NC (15KO), though now winless in three of his last five contests.

The quick exit in the main go left plenty of time to fill in the 90-minute telecast. With that came a scheduled four-round middleweight swing bout that didn’t quite last that long. Dominican newcomer Jonathan Cepeda spent most of the night teeing off on Omar Coffi before stopping the southpaw early in the third round.

Cepeda made his pro debut just two weeks ago, though it only lasted all of a round. He received somewhat of a better work out this go-round but not by much. Coffi was never competitive, and ultimately put out of his misery when a left hook to the body and right hand upstairs put him down and out for the night, 0:34 into the third.

It’s now two knockouts in as many fights for Cepeda, who’s slated to return early next year on Warrior Boxing’s show in Hollywood, FL. For Coffi, it’s the first taste of defeat, four fights into his young career (now 1-1-2, 0KO).

Fringe featherweight contender Leon Bobo managed to get his career back on track, scoring an upset split decision win over Orlando Gonzalez in their six-round swing bout.

Gonzalez dug deep throughout, but Bobo made the most of his height and speed advantages, as well as his overall skills, to prevent a fight from breaking out in their boxing match.

It was the type of fight that would come down to which style was more preferred, as reflected on the final scorecards at bout’s end, though you wouldn’t know it from Bobo’s reaction, jumping up and down the moment both fighters took center ring.

The scores were all the same, just in different directions. Gonzalez won 58-56 on one card, with the other two going to Bobo, who wins his second straight as he improves to 18-2 (2KO).

Gone for Gonzalez is an eight-fight win streak – all at the Miccosukee – as he dips to 12-2-1 (3KO) with the loss.

A sign of running thin on content is when your televised show closes with two upside down fighters getting face time. Such was the case for Derrick Moon, who enjoyed journeyman heaven with his two-punch third-round knockout of Amaury Torres.

Torres seemed to be in control for much of the bout, until getting clipped with a right uppercut and chopping left hook upstairs. The shots sent him crashing to the canvas upon impact, where he was forced to endure a mandatory eight count from referee Samuel Burgos. Torres arose at eight, but didn’t do enough to sell his performance to the third man, who stopped the fight without so much as another punch being thrown.

The call didn’t sit well with Torres, who offered an immediate protest in the form of a temper tantrum. With only one second remaining in the third, it was difficult to not sympathize with cause. Nevertheless, it resulted in the seventh loss of his career, one in which he’s never won two fights in a row (his record now 3-7-2, 1KO).

Moon ends an 11-fight losing streak – remarkably all of it taking place in 2008 – as he improves to 13-25-1 (3KO). The knockout was his first in more than four years and 23 fights.

The show was presented by All-Star Boxing.

Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.