Michel Rivera improved his record to 21-0 with his 8th round knockout victory over Jon Fernandez (21-2) on July 3rd. The fight took place at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. and was televised by Showtime.   

The 23-year-old Rivera went down for the first time in his career in the 6th round. He immediately rose to his feet and 2 rounds later would stop Fernandez. While reflecting on the fight, Rivera insists that the knockdown shouldn’t have counted.

"The truth is that it wasn't really a knockdown.  Look at it again. I slipped. I was positioning myself to throw an uppercut and he hit me in the arm but the referee counted it as a knockdown.  I stayed calm and was never hurt,” Rivera told BoxingScene.com.

Fernandez took a lot of hard shots before the knockout occurred and the Dominican Republic native has a lot of respect for him. He said that his work to the body was the key to securing the knockout victory.

"I give my opponent credit.  He was strong and had a hard punch so I had to box him. I used my jab and went to the body and then in the 8th round boom the fight was over," Rivera stated.

Rivera, who is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz and fights under the Premier Boxing Champions banner, is now 2-0 with 2 knockouts in 2021 and is looking to close out the year with a major fight.

He is willing to face any of the top fighters in the lightweight division.  

"I will be back in the ring before the end of the year and close out the year with a bang.  I have all of the abilities and talent within me to make history,” said Rivera.

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