At the Beau Rivage Resort Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi - hard-hitting prospect Raymond Guajardo (5-1, 4 KOs) suffered the first loss of his pro career as Clay Collard (6-2-3, 2 KOs) was able to stop Guajardo by technical knockout in the second stanza of their super welterweight scrap.

Collard had planned to retire after this fight, but now he aims to secure another pay day.

Collard, fighting out of Cache Valley, Utah, inflicted damage first, scoring two knockdowns in the opening round. Guajardo then knocked down a slightly careless Collard toward the close of the first round.

In the second round, Collard was able to finish Guajardo, pummeling Guajardo against the ropes until the referee stepped in to halt the contest at the 1:42 mark of round two.

“It was a war,” said Collard. “That’s what fighting is. I love it. It’s awesome.

“I thought (Guajardo) was going to use his length and pick and move, but he came out gunning, and that’s how I like to fight. I like to bang.

“I think I caught him with a good left hook the first time when I dropped him, and the rest is history,” continued Collard. “I knew I hurt him, and I’ve hurt people before and jumped on them really quick, and that’s why he dropped me was because the second time I knocked him down I got too excited and I went in and got caught. So, I have to be more patient.

“I need to learn how to be more defensive, pick my shots and land them, but it was a great win for me tonight,” concluded Collard.

The action also included unbeaten prospect Omar Juarez (7-0, 4 KOs) in a super lightweight showdown against Mexico’s Angel Martinez (19-19-1, 12 KOs). Juarez scored a seventh-round knockdown en route to a wide unanimous decision (80-71, 80-71, 79-73).

"It was a beautiful experience, especially fighting a veteran with over 30 fights, my first eight-rounder as well, and overall I learned a lot,” said Juarez. “There are levels to this, and I have a lot of work left to do, but I look forward to watching the film and correcting all of my mistakes."