Popular super welterweight contender Alfredo Angulo stopped former world titleholder Joachim Alcine in the first round of a scheduled 12 round eliminator bout in front of a crowd of 2,152 at the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif. With the victory, Angulo is the No. 1 contender for a world title bout.

Angulo was victorious in his last bout in April, knocking out fellow super welterweight contender Joel Julio in the 11th round of a 12 round bout. Alcine had not fought in over seven months, winning a 12 round unanimous decision over French fringe contender Christophe Canclaux.

After a few exchanges in the first half of the opening round, Angulo landed a right hand to the head of Alcine. After the punch landed, Alcine grabbed onto Angulo’s left arm. In the meantime, Angulo landed 12-14 unanswered right hands to the head of Alcine.

“He was hurt because he grabbed onto my arm,” said Angulo, who has won his last four bouts in a row, since a 12 round decision loss to Kermit Cintron last May. “He wanted to hold on. I had one hand free to punch so I threw as many punches as I could.”

After both fighters were separated, Alcine was able to come back with a nice left hook to the chin of Angulo. However, Angulo came on strong, landing a series of punches that backed Alcine against the ropes. Angulo landed a hard right hand to the head, followed by a left hook that prompted referee Dr. Lou Moret to step in and stop the bout at 2:59.

“I knew it was going to be a tough fight against Alcine,” reflected Angulo, who thanked strength and conditioning coach Daryl Hudson for putting him through hard workout sessions during training. “He likes to work hard and so do I. We worked on combinations in the gym, but working with Daryl was excellent.”

“I wanted to keep going,” said Alcine, who held a title at 154 pounds before losing it to Daniel Santos two years ago. "I should have held on to him rather than punch. My punches were too wide.”

Angulo, from Downey, CA by way of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, improves to 19-1, 16 KO’s. Alcine, from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, drops to 32-2, 19 KO’s.