By Jake Donovan

Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins square off later this year in a bout with three light heavyweight belts at stake. Adonis Stevenson is the recognized lineal light heavyweight king.

All three need to begin looking over their collective shoulders, because Artur Beterbiev is already hot on the trail. 

The former amateur standout from Russia - who now calls Montreal home - stepped up in class but looked like a world beater in annhilating former light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud. Four knockdowns led to a second round knockout in their main event Saturday evening at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

Beterbiev turned pro just 15 months ago, following a wealth of amateur experience. Included among his reign of terror in the non-pay ranks were wins over Egor Mekhontev, Ismayl Sillakh, Thabiso Mchunu, Yunier Dorticos and a pair of victories over Kovalev. His rise through Russia's amateur program led to his serving on the nation's Olympic boxing teams in 2008 and 2012, though never advancing beyond the quarterfinals. 

From the looks of his performance on Saturday evening, it's fair to say the sky appears to be the limit for the monstrous punching 29-year old. 

Beterbiev had only fought 14 total rounds since turning pro last June, having never been extended beyond round four. Cloud was supposed to represent the stiffest challenge of the Russian's career; instead he resembled just another stiff, barely a speed bump on the road to light heavyweight contention.

It was clear from the opening bell that Beterbiev had no fear of anything his opponent could potentiall throw his way. Once upon a time, Cloud was in the same position, knocking out everyone in sight during his rise through the ranks before eventually realizing his world title dream with a win over former champ Clinton Woods in Aug. '09.

The rest of reign proved less impressive than his climb to the top, but Cloud was always recognized as among the best in a 175 lb. division that - while dramatically changing shape over the past few years - has always remained top-heavy. 

Little sunshine is left in Cloud's career, however. Following a summer that saw Gabriel Campillo resurrect his career with a surprise knockout win over unbeaten Thomas Williams, Cloud thought he could march to Canada and do the same against another fighter touted as the future of the division.

The difference is that Beterbiev put plenty of force behind those claims. The Russian transplant has quickly become a crowd favorite in a region that already boasts its share of stars in and around the light heavyweight division. Stevenson, former light heavyweight king Jean Pascal and fading ex-super middleweight titlsit Lucian Bute all compete as Canada's most popular boxer these days, but Beterbiev is making all of the right moves to challenge their place at the box office and the popularity charts. 

A vicious tone was set from the opening bell. Beterbiev was purposeful with every punch thrown, leaving Cloud to realize just how much - or how little - was left in his 32-year old gas tank. A series of left hooks pummelled the sculpted Floridian, with plenty of right hands mixed in for punishing measure. The accumulation of an endless flurry of power shots willed Cloud to the canvas midway through the opening round for the bout's first knockdown.

Down on all fours would soon become a familar position for Cloud, who never truly recovered from the sequence. The ex-champ beat the count, but quickly found himself down again mere seconds later. Beterbiev embraced the race against the clock, jumping on Cloud and forcing a third knockdown in the round, this one coming just before the bell.

Cloud barely made it out of the round but his punch resistance was gone. Wise well beyond his five fights of pro experience, Beterbiev picked up on this and immediately moved in for the kill, forcing Cloud face first to the canvas early in round two. 

There would be no beating the count this time around, as Cloud was declared a knockout loser at just 0:38 of round two. The loss is his third straight, including two in a row in Canada, having quit on his stool after seven one-sided rounds versus Stevenson last September, in fact exactly 52 weeks ago. 

Stevenson entered that fight as the newly minted World light heavyweight king, having drilled Chad Dawson inside of one round and riding a string of impressive knockouts. That he had to settle for a technical stoppage was a minor buzzkill, though hardly slowed down his momentum.

Beterbiev didn't need to rely on a technicality to get the job done. Repeated knockdowns and a good old-fashioned ass whipping was enough to run his record to 6-0 (6KOs). 

The win earned the Russian knockout artist a regional title should lead to a world ranking for one of the belts currently in Hopkins' possession. All eyes will be on the division on November 8, when Hopkins and Kovalev collide in the most significant light heavyweight matchup in years. 

As for the winner of that fight and for Stevenson, Pascal and anyone else thinking of making a claim as the world's best light heavyweight, their eyes better remain affixed to the rearview mirror. A new light heavyweight is on the prowl and - as shown on Saturday evening - he has no reservation about tearing through anything and anyone standing in his way.

In the evening's co-feature, Dierry Jean overcame a slow start to stop Daniel Ruiz in five rounds. A full report can be found HERE . 

FULL LINE RESULTS
Artur Beterbiev KO2 Tavoris Cloud - light heavyweights
Dierry Jean KO5 Daniel Ruiz - lightweights
Cedric Spera UD4 (39-36 x3) Stephane Ouellet - middleweights
Antonin Decarie KO5 (2:08) Ivan Pereyra - welterweights
Kevin Bizier KO1 (2:31) Laszlo Fazekas - super welterweights
Yves Ulysse Jr. UD6 (60-54 x2, 60-52) Krystian Huczko - super lightweights
Eric Bazinyan UD6 (60-54 x2, 60-53) Baptiste Castegnaro - super middleweights
Steven Butler TKO2 (2:44) Bernard Follea - super welterweights

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox