Alexis Rocha has taken another step towards a truly big fight.
The welterweight contender took down replacement George Ashey twice in the seventh round at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif. on Saturday, stopping him with one punch. The official time for the stop was 2:08.
Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs) was scheduled to face Anthony Young, but Young was uncarded earlier this week. And his Ashie, a 38-year-old veteran from Ghana, agreed to participate.
Ashie proved willing, but lacked the skill set to dodge the shots Rocha threw at him.
Southpaw Rocha knocked Athy down with about 20 seconds left in round 3, crippling him with a vicious right hook.
Rocha stayed on top of Ashie with a ton of punches after suffering a bad cut from a clash to the head in round 6. Ashie countered with a hittable Rocha. He started wearing him down.
Finally, in round 7, Rocha landed another perfect right hook, flattening Ashie to the face. However, this time, referee Thomas Taylor quickly stopped the fight as Athier was clearly unable to continue.
Rocha is on a six-game winning streak since losing to slick Rashidi Ellis in October 2020.
He is the WBO No. 3 contender and WBC title holder Errol Spence Jr.
The 25-year-old from Orange County, California considers himself ready for the above levels of opposition.
“I’m ready for big names,” Rocha said. “Erroll Spence doesn’t want to fight Crawford for some reason. He’s fighting Thurman. I’m next to the WBO. I want Crawford next. …
“I know what I’m capable of. When I fight, I know that no matter who’s in front of me, I’ll take it to the next level.”
The story was originally published in Boxing Junkie