Former lightweight world titleholder Jose Pedraza used his superior skills and experience to nullify the pressure of Antonio Lozada in a ninth-round, TKO victory Saturday night on the Masayuki Ito-Jamel Herring junior lightweight title fight at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.

From the very beginning, Lozada (40-3-1, 34 KOs) kept coming forward and winging punches, and while he did land his share of punches, the harder and more accurate salvos came from Pedraza (26-2, 13 KOs), who as the night wore on began to box more out of the southpaw stance.

As the rounds advanced, Lozada's punches began to lose their steam, and Pedraza's effectiveness off the ropes became more apparent as he adroitly rolled with many of the oncoming punches and effectively counter-punched Lozada.

Final punch stats Fighter Total Jabs Power Pedraza 310 of 817 (38%) 73 of 252 (29%) 237 of 565 (42%) Lozada 150 of 688 (22%) 50 of 156 (32%) 100 of 532 (19%) -- Courtesy of CompuBox

The fight became more one-sided as Pedraza's body shot began to accumulate. Pedraza, who lost a unanimous decision against unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko last year, started to dominate the fight.

In the ninth round, a laser-like left hand from Pedraza off the ropes sent Lozada to the canvas. After getting back on his feet, he was struck by another barrage of punches that had his corner waving off the fight.

"I became a champion in this division, and I want to become a champion in this division again and in [heavier] divisions, as well," said Pedraza. "Lozada was a tough opponent who came to fight with all of his heart. He was a great test for me, and I passed it with flying colors. I can't wait to see what is next."

This was the first stoppage victory for Pedraza since a TKO victory over Juan Carlos Martinez in 2014.

Junior bantamweight Koki Eto's fight against Jeyvier Cintron was declared a "no contest" in Round 1. Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Koki Eto (25-4-1, 20 KOs) thought he had scored a first-round TKO of the previously undefeated Jeyvier Cintron, a two-time Olympian from Puerto Rico, but he would have to settle for a very unsatisfying "no-contest"; the Florida commission ruled it was a head butt, and not the right hand Eto landed on Cintron, that sent Cintron to the floor. Cintron (10-1, 5 KOs), a southpaw, was boxing effectively early in the round, beating Eto to the punch as he circled the ring. Suddenly, Eto uncorked a massive overhand right that sent Cintron onto the seat of his pants. Cintron was able to get up but was wobbly and never quite able to regain his bearings. As he kept stumbling around the ring, referee Andrew Glenn stopped the fight. It was a sudden and dramatic ending to this scheduled 10-round bout. Unfortunately for Eto, the clash of heads overruled his big punch.

Featherweight prospect Adam Lopez, left, got up from the canvas to stop Jean Carlos Rivera. Mikey Williams/Top Rank