NEW YORK – It didn’t take John Bauza long to knock the obvious confidence out of Michael Williams Jr. on Saturday night.

The unbeaten junior welterweight prospect dropped Williams 30 seconds into their scheduled eight-rounder and scored four more knockdowns before their one-sided bout was stopped at 2:18 of the fourth round. Referee Charlie Fitch stopped their fight after Williams went down for the third time in the fourth round, with Williams flat on his back.

The 23-year-old Bauza, of North Bergen, New Jersey, improved to 16-0 and recorded his seventh knockout. The 22-year-old Williams, of Fort Riley, Kansas, suffered his first professional defeat (19-1, 12 KOs) in what was a significant step up in competition.

A right hook by Bauza sent Williams to one knee with 1:22 to go in the fourth round. Williams got up and tried to fight back, but Bauza’s left-right combination dropped him again with 1:04 on the clock in the fourth round.

A vicious right-left combination by Bauza knocked Williams flat on his back with 45 seconds on the clock in the fourth round. Fitch immediately waved an end to the action once Williams went down for the fifth time in less than four rounds.

Before Bauza’s fourth-round onslaught, Williams fell through the ropes near a neutral corner barely 30 seconds into the third round. Bauza blasted Williams with a counter right hook 1:10 into the third round and made Williams cautious for the rest of the round.

Williams went to the canvas twice in the middle minute of the second round, but Fitch ruled that Bauza pushed him down both times.

A counter left by Bauza dropped Williams for the second time in their fight with just over a minute remaining in the second round. Williams waited until Fitch’s count reached nine before he got up.

A reluctant Williams moved away from Bauza for the rest of the second round.

A right-left combination by Bauza sent Williams to the seat of his trunks just 30 seconds into their fight. A surprised Williams reached his feet quickly and did his best to avoid Bauza’s heavier shots for the rest of the opening round.

Bauza landed a right hook to the head, a right hook to the body and a straight right to Williams’ head in the final 15 seconds of the first round, though.

In the bout before Bauza’s victory, Staten Island’s James Wilkins withstood Juan Tapia’s rally following a fourth-round knockdown to win an eight-round unanimous decision in their junior lightweight fight Saturday night on the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Richard Commey undercard at Madison Square Garden.

Judges Ken Ezzo (77-75), James Kinney (77-74) and Robert Perez (76-75) all scored the action for Wilkins, whom Tapia hurt with a right hand in the sixth round. Wilkins improved to 10-2 (6 KOs).

Tapia, of Brownsville, Texas, dropped to 10-4 (3 KOs).

Tapia complained to referee Sparkle Lee about 40 seconds into the eighth round because Wilkins hit him behind his head. Wilkins landed a flush left hook in an exchange with about 30 seconds to go in their fight.

After buzzing Wilkins in the sixth round, Tapia continued to back up Wilkins with the harder shots, most overhand rights, during the seventh round. Tapia kept a wary Wilkins on his back foot for much of that round.

Tapia hurt Wilkins with a right hand up top that snapped back Wilkins’ head and caused him to hold with just over a minute to go in the sixth round. Wilkins eventually tackled Tapia to the canvas to halt his momentum.

A jarring jab by Wilkins knocked Tapia off balance and to the canvas 26 seconds into the fourth round. Tapia reached his feet pretty quickly and threw hard punches at Wilkins soon thereafter.

Wilkins moved Tapia through the top two ropes early in the third round and hit him with several illegal punches before Lee stepped between them to allow Tapia to re-enter the ring properly.

A left-right combination by Tapia moved Wilkins backward just before the second round ended. Wilkins’ left hook knocked Tapia into the ropes in the final minute of the first round.

In the opening fight Saturday night, Irish light heavyweight prospect Joe Ward stopped Britton Norwood in the first round of a six-rounder.

Ward hurt Norwood with a right to the body barely a minute into the opening round. Norwood never really recovered from that body blow, which enabled Ward to land a left hand that sent Norwood to the canvas several seconds later.

Norwood answered referee Charlie Fitch’s count, but he couldn’t keep Ward from swarming him once the action resumed. Ward unloaded a barrage of punches as Norwood was backed against the ropes and Fitch stepped between them to halt the action 1:35 into the first round.

Ward, of Moate, Ireland, improved to 6-1 and recorded his third knockout. Norwood, of Jackson, Mississippi, suffered the second technical knockout loss of his career and slipped to 10-4-1 (7 KOs, 1 NC).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.