Travis Kauffman’s surgically repaired left shoulder gave out on him again Saturday night.

The veteran heavyweight’s scheduled 10-rounder against Otto Wallin was stopped during the fifth round, once it was apparent Kauffman was fighting with one arm. Referee Michael Ortega stopped the action at 2:32 of the fifth round in the opener of Showtime’s three-bout broadcast from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Sweden’s Wallin (21-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC) won by technical knockout in his first fight in the 11 months since he lost to Tyson Fury, though it was somewhat unfulfilling.

Kauffman, of Reading, Pennsylvania, lost a second straight bout by TKO. He hadn’t fought in the 20 months since Luis Ortiz stopped him in the 10th round in Los Angeles.

Kauffman (32-4, 23 KOs, 1 NC) had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after he lost to Ortiz. He told BoxingScene.com before facing Wallin that he would retire if he lost.

Wallin was beginning to dominate the action when Ortega decided he had seen enough. At one point in the fifth round, Kauffman turned away from Wallin due to the pain in his left arm.

Wallin established distance during the fifth round, too, when he kept catching Kauffman with jabs. Eventually, Kauffman became defenseless and the bout was stopped.

Wallin worked well off his jab during the fourth round, when Kauffman continued to struggle getting inside. Kauffman already appeared tired at that point in the fight.

Wallin landed several jabs and straight left hands during a third round he clearly won. Kauffman connected with a right hand that briefly backed Wallin into the ropes with just under 10 seconds to go in the third round.

Ortega warned Wallin for holding Kauffman behind his head and hitting him, which resulted in a brief break in the action with 1:08 to go in the second round. Ortega told Wallin and his trainer, Joey Gamache, that he’d deduct a point if he fouled Kauffman again.

Kauffman switched to a southpaw stance midway through the opening round. He landed a left hook off a break soon thereafter.

Neither fight landed a damaging punch in those first three minutes, though.

The 29-year-old Wallin fought for the first time since forcing Fury into a harder 12-round fight than Fury might’ve anticipated last September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Wallin’s straight left hand opened a gigantic cut over Fury’s right eye in the third round, yet England’s Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) fought through that cut and won by scores o118-110, 117-111 and 116-112.

Wallin was supposed to return to the ring against Australia’s Lucas Browne (29-2, 25 KOs) on March 28 at Park MGM in Las Vegas. Wallin withdrew from that bout because he fractured a bone in his left foot late in February.

That Showtime broadcast later was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 34-year-old Kauffman ended a 20-month hiatus caused primarily by surgery to fix a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Ortiz stopped Kauffman in the 10th round of Kauffman’s last appearance, which came in December 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Cuba’s Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC) knocked Kauffman to the canvas three times – once apiece in the sixth, eighth and 10th rounds – before their fight was stopped.

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