Ferdinand Kerobyan couldn't have asked for a cleaner night at the office ahead of a major career opportunity.
Three knockdowns paved the way for a 2nd round win for the 22-year old Armenian welterweight prospect over Panama's Azael Cosio in the chief support Thursday evening at The OC Hangar in Costa Mesa, California.
Keryobyan—now based out of North Hollywood—scored two knockdowns in the opening round and another in round two, shortly after which he forced the stoppage at 2:07 of round two.
The bout was never competitive, although Cosio (21-9-2, 18KOs) will go to his grave claiming his performance was hindered by faulty wardrobe. The visiting journeyman constantly slipped on the canvas, never quite getting his footing due to his ring shoes being worn out. It made him an open target for Kerobyan, who scored the bout's first knockdown courtesy of a power jab.
Cosio beat the count, but found himself back on the canvas less than a minute later. Kerobyan connected with a jab and left hook, sending Cosio to the deck although partially due to his legs coming out from under him.
Failure to keep his footing saw Cosio falling around the ring in round two, including one point where he flat out tackled Kerobyan to the canvas. Kerobyan (13-1, 8KOs) quickly rose to his feet and once again sent Cosio to the deck. An ensuing volley along the ropes prompted referee Thomas Taylor to jump in and rescue a defenseless Cosio, though overzealous in his intervention as he crashed into Kerobyan who fell to the deck but escaped the sequence unscathed and with his third straight win following a hard-fought loss to fellow Golden Boy Promotions prospect Blair Cobbs last March.
Next up for Kerobyan is a trip to Las Vegas where he will serve as a main sparring partner for Jessie Vargas, who prepares for his February 29 DAZN headliner versus Mikey Garcia.
Kerobyan's win over Cosio served as the chief support to middleweight Jason Quigley's scheduled 10-round clash versus Fernando Marin.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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