By Francisco Salazar

Jose Argumedo is solidifying his claim as one of the best fighters in 105 pounds.

He did so again on Saturday night.

Argumedo stopped contender Jose Jimenez in the third round at Los Terrenos de la Feria de la FENAHUAP in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Argumedo successfully defended his IBF world title and improves to 19-3-1, 11 KOs. Jimenez falls to 17-6-1, 7 KOs.

It was the second title defense for Argumedo, who won the title from Katsunari Takayama on December 31. Jimenez, who resides in Maguangue, Colombia, entered the Argumedo clash having not lost in eight bouts.

Argumedo was the sharper fighter of the two from the opening bell. Jimenez swung with wild left and right hands, leaving himself open to be countered by Argumedo. While Jimenez attempted to stand in the pocket, he would get repeatedly hit with lead or counter right hands to the head.

An overhand right hand dropped Jimenez in the first 30 seconds of the third round. Moments later, a barrage of punches staggered Jimenez against the ropes. Jimenez never went down, but referee Mario Gonzalez correctly administered an eight-count as the ropes held Jimenez up.

The end came midway through the round as Argumedo landed a series of right hands to the head prompting Gonzalez to step in and stop the fight.

In the co-feature bout, junior middleweight Alexis Salazar won a hard-fought 10 round split decision over Juan Carlos Raygoza.

Salazar, who has won his last six bouts in a row, improves to 14-3, 6 KOs. Raygoza falls to 11-10-2, 5 KOs.

With trainer Eddy Reynoso (who also trains Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez) in his corner, Salazar was in control of the fight early on. Raygoza pressed the fight into the second half of the fight, producing a less-tactical, action fight between the two.

Raygoza was the aggressor until the final bell, but Salazar was able to come out victorious based on the early lead he built in the fight.

One judge scored the bout 96-95 in favor of Raygoza, while the other two judges scored the bout 98-92 and 96-94 in favor of Salazar.

The fight was a rematch of their February 2015 bout, where Raygoza won by decision over six rounds.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing