Clay Collard continued his successful summer Saturday night.

Collard won his third fight since June 18 by stopping Maurice Williams in the second round of an eight-round middleweight match at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. The 27-year-old Collard, a former UFC fighter from Burley, Idaho, improved to 9-2-3 and recorded his fourth knockout on the Eleider Alvarez-Joe Smith Jr. undercard.

Oklahoma City’s Williams (7-2, 3 KOs) lost by knockout for the second time in four years a pro. Referee Tony Weeks stopped the action at 1:54 of the second round, with a defenseless Williams still on his feet.

Collard defeated three previously unbeaten opponents earlier this year. Most notably, he won a six-round split decision over David Kaminsky, a prospect promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., on June 18 at MGM Grand Conference Center.

Collard clipped Williams with a short, right hand that sent Williams to the seat of his trunks 24 seconds into the second round. Williams got up quickly, but Collard caught him with a left hook that hurt Williams with about 1:25 to go in that second round.

Williams stumbled toward a corner and Collard drilled him with an overhand right just before Weeks could step between them and halt the bout.

Collard pressured Williams from the opening bell and landed several hard, right hands in the first round. His success in those opening three minutes was a precursor of what was to come in the ensuing round. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.