There was no doubt about Gabriel Maestre’s win against this fighter from Maryland on Saturday night.

The 37-year-old Maestre knocked out highly touted 22-year-old welterweight prospect Travon Marshall in the second round of a 147-pound fight Showtime televised from MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Maestre (6-0-1, 5 KOs), a two-time Olympian from Venezuela, dropped Marshall twice before referee Sharon Sands stopped their scheduled 10-rounder at 2:06 of the second round.

Maestre hammered Marshall with a right hand that knocked Marshall into the ropes and down with 1:50 to go in the second round. A stunned Marshall beat Sands’ count and attempted to fight out of the trouble, but Maestre wouldn’t allow him to recover.

An aggressive Maestre continued to hit Marshall with hard punches, punctuated by a right hand that knocked down Marshall for the second time with 56 seconds remaining in the second round. Sands waved an end to the bout once Marshall fell into the bottom rope.

Marshall (8-1, 7 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Maryland, promised he was ready for this step up in competition against an opponent that had less professional bouts, but a wealth of amateur experience. Maestre stopped former junior welterweight and welterweight champ Devon Alexander after the third round of his previous fight April 8 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Prior to Saturday night, Maestre mostly was known for his infamous 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over Mykal Fox in August 2021 at The Armory in Minneapolis. Fox, one of Marshall’s sparring partners from nearby Upper Marlboro, Maryland, clearly out-classed Maestre in that nationally televised bout, yet Maestre still won their 12-round fight for the WBA interim welterweight title on the scorecards of judges John Mariano (115-112), Gloria Martinez Rizzo (117-110) and David Singh (114-113).

The WBA subsequently suspended Rizzo, whose racist Tweets were uncovered following her suspect scoring of the Maestre-Fox fight. The WBA also stripped Maestre of its WBA interim championship and petitioned the Minnesota Office of Combat Sports to change the result of their nationally televised bout to a no-contest.

Nothing about the nondescript first round Saturday night indicated what was to come in the stunning second round.

With his back against the ropes, Marshall connected with a right hand a few seconds before the first round ended. Maestre landed a right to Marshall’s body with just under 40 seconds on the clock in the opening round.

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