Junior lightweight Thomas Mattice stopped Jessie Cris Rosales in the opening round Saturday night at the Civic Center in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

Mattice, who is promoted by Vic Green, improved to 18-3-1, 14 knockouts.

The 31-year-old Mattice had not fought since losing a close unanimous decision to Luis Melendez on November 5. He had won his previous two fights, both by knockout.

Past the midway point of the first round, both fighters threw a jab, but Mattice’s was stronger, buckling Rosales legs before going down to the canvas. Rosales was visibly hurt from the punch and was counted out at 1:18.

Some of Mattice’s most notable fights as a pro took place on the popular ShoBox series. He lost a close majority decision to lightweight contender Isaac Cruz in February 2020 and won by technical knockout over previously-unbeaten Michael Dutchover in September 2019.

Rosales, who resides in Cebu City in the Philippines, falls to 23-5-1, 10 KOs. The 30-year-old has lost four of his last five bouts, including losses to Xavier Martinez, Tyler McCreary and Shakur Stevenson.

In the co-feature, Antonio Nieves, who also resides in Cleveland, improved to 20-3-2, 11 KOs by defeating previously-unbeaten Judy Flores (10-1, 6 KOs) of the Philippines by unanimous decision.

Scores were 80-72, 80-72 and 80-71 for Nieves, who challenged then-WBO junior bantamweight titleholder Naoya Inoue in September 2017, losing by knockout after the sixth round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing