Efetobor Apochi remains a knockout every time out.
The supremely conditioned Houston-bred Nigerian picked up his 10th knockout in as many pro fights, ridding the ring of Joe Jones inside of three rounds Saturday evening live on FS1 from a crowdless Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Apochi scored knockdowns in each of the three rounds of action, the last of which prompted referee Thomas Taylor to stop the contest at 0:51 of round three.
West Virginia’s Jones (11-3, 8KOs) did his best to remain mobile and avoid the massive punching power of his foe. It didn’t quite take, as Apochi closed the round with a three-punch combination—a straight right, left hook and right hand—to send Jones to the canvas. The West Virginia native barely beat the count issued by Taylor, rising at nine and passing the in-ring sobriety test in being permitted to continue.
Apochi continued to apply pressure in round two. The Ronnie Shields-trained cruiserweight showed poise and ring smarts, not wasting any punches and making every power shot count. Similar to the previous round, a three punch combination once again put Jones down. A right-left-right by Apochi did the trick, with Jones once again remaining on a knee until the count of nine before rising to his feet. To his credit, Jones managed to sneak in a right hand to keep Apochi on his toes at the end of the frame.
The brief momentum shift didn’t at all last. Apochi closed the show early in round three, even if Jones protested the outcome. A combination by the 33-year old was partially aided by an incidental clash of heads, with Jones going down and holding his head. Jones complained to the referee of the sequence while refusing to respond to an inquiry of whether he could continue, thus resulting in the end of the fight.
Apochi landed 38-of-150 punches (25%) according to Compubox, while Jones was 17-of-83 (20%).
The bout served as the chief support on a tripleheader topped by Amilcar Vidal (11-0, 10KOs) and Edward Ortiz (11-0-2, 4KOs) in a scheduled 10-round middleweight bout.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox