Angelo Leo did not all bear the look of a fighter who has been out of the ring for more than two years.

A relentless attack by the former WBO junior featherweight was enough to power his way to a ninth-round technical knockout win over Dominican Republic’s Nicolas Polanco. An injured left shoulder cited by Polanco prompted referee Alicia Collins—upon advice from the ringside physician—to stop the bout at 1:59 of the ninth round in their ProBox TV-aired co-feature Wednesday evening from Whitesands Event Center in Plant City, Florida.

Leo was forced to endure a two-way action fight in his first round of action since a June 2021 win over Aaron Alameda. Both boxers worked their jabs and offered a persistent body attack. Leo was more effective in combination and volume punching but Polanco closed the round strong with an aggressive flurry to get the attention of his vastly more experienced foe.

Steady pressure was applied by Leo in round two, this time without the late surge offered by Polanco. Leo constantly threw and landed his left hook to the body along with heavy power shots upstairs. Polanco rallied again late in round three in perhaps his last great moment of the fight.

Leo showed a terrific gas tank as his activity level continued to increase his workrate. The willingness was there for Polanco but was physically unable to keep pace. He informed his trainer prior to the start of round six that he was unable to use his left arm due to a perceived shoulder injury, which became more apparent in the ensuing rounds.

The money shot for Leo—his favored counter right—found its home in the later rounds. Leo dug to the body and then allowed Polanco (20-5-1, 11KOs) to come to him before he landed his right over the top out of a crouched stance.

Polanco’s injury became more obvious in round nine. A brief clinch saw the Dominican fall to the canvas, where he deliberately avoided using his left arm to break his fall. Time was called for the ringside physician to survey the injury before the referee was informed to stop the fight.

Leo advanced to 22-1 (10KOs) and picked up his first win inside the distance since a December 2019 eleventh round stoppage of Cesar Suarez. The feat was his last as a contender before he claimed the WBO junior featherweight title in an August 2020 points win over unbeaten Tramaine Williams, who took the fight on short notice when originally scheduled Stephen Fulton tested positive for Covid.

The title reign only lasted as long as it took for Fulton-Leo to be rescheduled, less than six months later. Leo dropped a twelve-round decision and has been forced to deal with out-of-ring issues which has resulted in the career-long layoff preceding Wednesday’s victory.

Opening the ProBox TV tripleheader, Cincinnati’s Mykell Gamble (6-0, 4KOs) earned a first-round knockout of Carlos Rocha. A perfectly timed left hand by the unbeaten southpaw floored Brazil’s Rocha (3-2, 2KOs), who struggled to make it to his feet as he was stopped at 2:01 of round one.  

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