GLENDALE, Arizona – Richardson Hitchins continues to hit his stride as he transitions from prospect to aspiring contender.

The unbeaten junior welterweight picked up his first knockout win in three years—almost to the day—with a fourth-round stoppage of Angel Rodriguez. Hitchins floored Rodriguez in round two and applied heavy pressure to the point of forcing a stoppage at 1:40 of round four in their non-televised bout Saturday evening at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Hitchins (14-0, 6KOs) was a surprise placement on the show, as the Mayweather Promotions fighter was originally believed to appear in his Brooklyn hometown on the Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero undercard next weekend. The Brooklyn native made the most of his placement on Saturday’s show, using combinations and hand speed to dazzle Mexico’s Rodriguez (12-11-3, 5KOs).

Not known for his knockout power, Hitchins—who represented Haiti in the 2016 Rio Olympics—was inspired by the string of early stoppages in the preceding undercard bouts. A crisp right hand caught Rodriguez in producing the bout’s first knockdown midway through round two. Hitchins remained poised, not wasting any punches or movement as he repeatedly beat Rodriguez to the punch.

An accumulation of punches left Rodriguez defenseless midway through round four, prompting an immediate stoppage from the referee.

Hitchins scored his last knockout win on a May 2019 show at Barclays Center in his Brooklyn hometown, headlined by then-unbeaten WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder who annihilated Dominic Breazeale inside of a round. Four straight decision wins have followed for Hitchins, including a ten-round nod over Malik Hawkins in his previous bout last December 18 in Minneapolis.

Headlining the show, two-time WBC super middleweight titlist David Benavidez (25-0, 22KOs) from nearby Phoenix faces former IBF middleweight titlist David Lemieux (43-4, 36KOs). The scheduled 12-round Showtime main event is for the interim WBC super middleweight title, airing live on Showtime atop a televised tripleheader.

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