Featherweight contender Sakaria Lukas stopped journeyman Marco Antonio Macias in round 2 Friday night in Cancun, Mexico.

With the victory, Lukas improves to 23-1, 16 knockouts.

Lukas, who resides in Windhoek, Namibia, was rebounding from the first loss of his pro career at the hands of Isaac Avelar on December 5 in Arlington, Texas. Lukas lost by unanimous decision over 10 rounds.

The 36-year-old dropped Macias at the end of round 1. Sensing Macias was still affected by the impact of the knockdown, Lukas walked him down during the following round. Lukas trapped Macias in a corner, landing a series of right crosses to the head. Lukas ended matters by landing an overhand right cross to the head, dropping Macias and prompting the fight to immediately be stopped. 

Lukas’ most notable victory was a unanimous decision victory over former world title challenger Oscar Chauke of South Africa in April 2017. 

Macias, who resides in the Mexico City area, drops to 28-23, 14 KOs. He had not fought since losing by knockout to Ryan Garcia in July 2015 and has now lost 10 of his last 12 bouts. 

Super middleweight prospect Lester Martinez of Guatemala notched another knockout victory, knocking out Juan Torres Perez in the opening round.

Martinez (8-0, 8 KOs) imitated exchanges, connecting often from the opening bell. Later in the round, a right cross from Martinez dropped Torres to one knee against a corner, where he was counted out. 

Friday’s victory over Torres was Martinez’s third consecutive knockout victory in the opening round. The 25-year-old is best known for knocking out Ricardo Mayroga in his pro debut in April 2019.

Torres, who resides in Irapuato, Mexico, drops to 8-10, 6 KOs. He has now split his last six bouts. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene 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. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.