NEWARK, New Jersey – Shakur Stevenson showed Shuichiro Yoshino that he does indeed possess power.

The skillful Stevenson is known as one of the best boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport, but he dropped the Japanese contender once apiece in the second and fourth rounds en route to a sixth-round technical knockout Saturday night at Prudential Center. Referee Allen Huggins halted the action at 1:35 of the sixth round because Yoshino, though still standing, had taken a lot of flush punches and hadn’t thrown many punches back at Stevenson.

Yoshino’s handlers protested the stoppage, but it pleased most of the announced crowd of 10,408 inside Stevenson’s hometown arena. The 25-year-old Stevenson’s victory in his lightweight debut also earned the former featherweight and junior lightweight champion a 135-pound title shot.

“That’s what they all say. They say, ‘Oh, I ain’t got no power,’ so let’s see if they get in the ring with me,” Stevenson told a group of reporters at ringside. “[The second-round knockdown] was timing. I just didn’t know I timed it the way that I timed it, but when I saw him go down I knew it was gonna be a short night. I sensed I was beating him up, but I was trying to tell myself, ‘Stay patient.’ Because I’ll wing shots, but I’m missing, so I’m like, ‘OK, I ain’t gonna keep missing. I’m gonna start making sure every shot counts.’ ”

Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs), a Newark native who entered the ring as a 16-1 favorite, became the WBC’s mandatory challenger for Devin Haney or Vasiliy Lomachenko by beating Tokyo’s Yoshino (16-1, 12 KOs). Haney (29-0, 15 KOs), of Henderson, Nevada, will defend his IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight titles against Ukraine’s Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) in an ESPN Pay-Per-View main event May 20 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Stevenson is ranked third by the WBC in the 135-pound division, but second-ranked Isaac Cruz turned down a chance to face Stevenson for the mandatory spot. Lomachenko is the WBC’s number one-ranked lightweight contender. Yoshino is ranked fourth by the WBC.

A faster, sharper Stevenson picked apart the plodding Yoshino during the fifth and sixth rounds, which led Huggins to stop their scheduled 12-rounder while Yoshino remained on his feet.

Stevenson dropped Yoshino for the second time in their bout with a left-right combination that sent him to his gloves and knees with 36 seconds to go in the fourth round. Yoshino expressed exasperation as he remained on his knees, but he beat Huggins’ count for the second time in their fight and made it to the fifth round.

Stevenson’s right hook connected with just under 1:20 on the clock in the fourth round. He then drilled Yoshino with a straight left barely 20 seconds later.

Stevenson displayed speed and precision when he landed two right hooks, a straight left and a left uppercut during an impressive sequence with just under 20 seconds remaining in the third round. Backed against the ropes, Stevenson turned around Yoshino’s head with a right hook that connected just after the halfway point of the third round.

A short, straight left by Stevenson sent Yoshino to the canvas with just over 1:15 on the clock in the second round. Yoshino quickly beat Huggins’ count, but Stevenson saw openings later in the second round and knocked Yoshino off balance with a right hook that connected with just under 25 seconds to go in it.

Stevenson split Yoshino’s guard with a left hand just before the midway mark of the second round.

Yoshino’s straight right landed about 25 seconds into the second round.

Stevenson’s straight left landed with about 55 seconds on the clock in a first round in which he moved out of Yoshino’s punching range with relative ease. Yoshino pressed forward as soon as their bout began, but he couldn’t connect with a flush punch in the opening three minutes of their fight.

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