Sergio Sanchez took full advantage of the television exposure he received Saturday night in the United States.

The Mexican featherweight’s vicious left half-hook, half-uppercut knocked Gustavo Pina unconscious early in the third round of their scheduled six-rounder in Mexico City. That thunderous shot sent Pina to the canvas just six seconds into the third round.

Pina was out cold before he fell backward and landed flat on his back. The referee immediately waved an end to their fight, which ESPN televised as part of the Emanuel Navarrete-Uriel Lopez undercard from TV Azteca's Studios in Mexico City.

Sanchez, who also knocked down Pina late in the first round, improved to 15-1 and produced his ninth knockout. Mexico’s Pina (8-3, 5 KOs) had his seven-fight winning streak snapped and lost by knockout for the first time in 11 professional fights.

Sensing Pina was still hurt from a knockdown late in the first round, Sanchez went after him at the start of the second round. Pina took his power better in those second three minutes, though, and didn’t go down in that round.

Sanchez's power advantage was evident early in the first round. After connecting with several hard shots in that opening round, a left hook by Sanchez sent Pina to the canvas with 19 seconds to go in the first round.

Pina got up and made it to the end of the round.

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