There was no place like home for Gabriel Flores Jr.

A well-embraced homecoming produced a much-needed win for the 23-year-old lightweight, who made quick work of St. Louis’ Derrick Murray. A single left hand produced the bout’s lone knockdown and a sudden ending to the fight. Referee Gerard White halted the contest without a count at just 0:32 into the opening round of their ESPN+ aired bout Saturday evening from Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.

Flores entered the fight having lost two of his last three fights, both of which were brutally lopsided and which removed any remaining luster from his once-promising career. A return to his Stockton hometown—along with joining forces with the Vargas family including by former two-time junior middleweight titlist Fernando Vargas—provided the confidence boost he needed, though it also helped that he was in with a tailor-made opponent. Murray suffered a first-round knockout defeat just seven weeks ago and lost three of his last four heading into Saturday’s affair.

The brief action offered saw Murray connect to Flores’ chin before a check left hook put him flat on his back. Murray was clearly unaware of his surroundings, which was detected by the referee who waved his arm to signal an immediate end to the contest.

Murray fell to 17-9-1 (6KOs), with all nine defeats coming in his last twelve contests.

Flores advanced to 22-2 (7KOs) with his first win since last March in Fresno. A ten-round, majority decision over Abraham Montoya was bookended by one-sided decision defeats to Luis Alberto Lopez—now an IBF featherweight titlist—and unbeaten contender Giovanni Cabrera.

Flores-Murray headlined the ESPN+ preliminary portion of the seven-fight show. Headlining the ESPN-televised title fight doubleheader, Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly (13-0, 8KOs) defends his WBO middleweight title versus Montreal’s Steven Butler (32-3-1, 26KOs). Also on the show, Australia’s Jason Moloney (25-2, 19KOs) and the Philippines’ Vincent Astrolabio (18-3, 13KOs) vie for the vacant WBO bantamweight title.

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