Angelo Leo has rapidly emerged as a bona fide contender.

The unbeaten 25-year old from Albuquerque, New Mexico scored his biggest win to date, stopping veteran Cesar Juarez in the 11th round of their title eliminator Saturday evening at State Farm Arena.

The Mayweather Promotions-guided Leo scored three knockdowns on the night in forcing the stoppage at 1:12 of round eleven.

Juarez entered as the far more experienced of the two entering the bout and forced an aggressive pace early against Leo, who was fighting in his first career 12-round contest. The wily veteran wasn’t always successful on the attack, but forcing Leo on the defensive while throwing right hands and looping left hooks from long range.

Leo continued to fight behind a high defensive guard in round two, counterpunching Juarez’s wide punches with sharp right hands and left hooks upstairs. Juarez continued with his throw-it-all-against-the-wall approach in round four, though with Leo remaining patient in the pocket and scoring with digging left hooks to the body.

Juarez targeted the body in round five, though at times getting too greedy for his own good. The 28-year old from Mexico City plowed forward, throwing punches without fear of the incoming as Leo occasionally stepped back before working his way back inside. Juarez let his guard down, which Leo exploited in landing a right hand which buckled his foe late in the round.

A more aggressive approach by the unbeaten contender twice floor Juarez in round six. Juarez wisely remained on a knee for much of the mandatory eight count during the first knockdown before resuming action. A flurry sent him right back to the deck, once again beating the count but this time offering a far more defensive approach in order to survive the round. Leo fought with every intention of closing the show, scoring in combination as Juarez stopped throwing punches for the first time in the fight.

Juarez tried to turn things around at the start of the second half, though no longer with the same zip on his punches. Leo boxed his way through most of the frame, reserving his energy for the long haul after high volume output in the preceding round.

Leo briefly worked his jab at the start of round eight before working his way back inside. Juarez tried in vain to reclaim momentum but was forced to withstand Leo’s steady stream of left hooks both upstairs and to the body. Lateral movement was employed by Leo for much of round nine, though Juarez was able to cut off the ring and return to his body attack when keeping his opponent at close quarters.

Trouble once again threatened to surface late in round ten, when a right hand upstairs from Leo forced Juarez to hold and clear his head. It prolonged the inevitable, as Leo closed the show one round later.

A wicked body shot initiated a fight-ending flurry for Leo, who doubled over Juarez and forced him to the canvas for the bout’s third knockdown. Referee Jim Korb issued a mandatory eight count before deciding that Juarez was done for the night.

The bout snaps a modest two-fight win streak for Juarez, a former two-time title challenger who falls to 25-7 (19KOs) with the defeat.

Meanwhile, Leo soars to new heights and with a title shot somewhere in his future. The unbeaten rising contender advances to 19-0 (9KOs) and moves within one win of challenging for the IBF 122-pound title held by unified titlist Daniel Roman.

The bout served streamed live on Showtime’s YouTube channel, preceding a Showtime-televised tripleheader topped by a vacant lightweight title fight between Gervonta Davis and Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox