ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – Subriel Matias redeemed himself Saturday night.

The Puerto Rican knockout artist stopped Petros Ananyan after nine rounds in a brutal, entertaining welterweight rematch at Borgata Event Center. Matias dropped Ananyan with a left hook just before the ninth round ended.

The unbelievably brave Ananyan beat referee Mary Glover’s count and walked to his corner once the round ended. A ringside physician for New Jersey’s State Athletic Control Board examined Ananyan in his corner, though, and wouldn’t allow him to answer the bell for the start of the 10th round.

Matias (18-1, 18 KOs) avenged his only loss – a 10-round unanimous decision to Ananyan, who was a huge underdog on the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder undercard in February 2020 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Armenia’s Ananyan (16-3-2, 7 KOs) lost inside the distance for the first time since he turned pro in June 2015.

Matias essentially took target practice on Ananyan during the ninth round. It wasn’t until Matias nailed Ananyan with a left hook that twisted his body around that sent Ananyan to the canvas with three seconds to go in the ninth round.

The bell sounded to end the ninth round before the action could resume. A ringside physician then determined that Ananyan shouldn’t continue.

After an unforgettable seventh round, Matias and Ananyan continued to trade at a slightly slower pace in the eighth round. Matias blasted Ananyan with a right hand, but Ananyan didn’t budge with approximately 20 seconds to go in the eighth round.

Ananyan and Matias engaged in an epically entertaining seventh round, which featured numerous hard punches from both boxers. They both showed tremendous chins during those three minutes, as neither fighter really seemed to hurt his opponent.

Matias and Ananyan battered each other throughout a thoroughly compelling stretch during the final 40 seconds of the sixth round.

Ananyan’s corner men shouted for Glover to warn Matias for low blows early in the fifth round. She didn’t seem to pay them any mind, but clearly she was aware of Matias’ borderline blows because she deducted a point two rounds later.

Matias snapped back Ananyan’s head three times with right uppercuts during a sequence with approximately 30 seconds to go in the fourth round. Though tough and competitive versus a harder puncher, Ananyan had taken a lot of flush punches by that point in the fight.

Matias and Ananyan traded hard punches in a very entertaining exchange over the final 25 seconds of the third round. By then, Ananyan had a welt beneath his left eye.

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