Travon Lawson didn’t have any intention of playing the role of opponent.

The Fox primetime debut of featherweight prospect Angel Barrientes ended in disaster, as Lawson scored a 4th round knockout in a considerable upset Saturday evening at Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California.

A clean right hand by Lawson put Barrientes flat on his back, with his response not to the liking of referee Eddie Hernandez Sr. who stopped the contest at 0:55 of round four.

Barrientes came out purposeful at the opening bell, putting his height and reach advantage to good use. Tuscaloosa’s Lawson initially offered little in return, walking in and attempting to get inside Barrientes’ long jab only to get picked apart at close quarters.

Round two played out in similar fashion. Barrientes—an 18-year old Las Vegas native by way of Honolulu—threw every punch with mean intentions, an action befitting his ‘AK-47’ ring moniker. Lawson kept a tight guard but failed to offer any angles, remaining in the line of fire for Barrientes’ right hands and left hooks.

Lawson landed his best punch of the fight to that point in round three, connecting with a right hand which briefly caught the attention of Barrientes. It was among the few clean sequences in a rough-and-tumble three-minute frame which saw Barrientes shoved into the ropes and both fighters taking a spill to the canvas in wrestling-like fashion.

Things would get much, much rougher.

A dramatic momentum came early in round four. Lawson dialed up the pressure, to which Barrientes was unable to adapt. Lawson connected with six unanswered power shots, the last of which was a laser-like right hand which put Barrientes flat on his back. The teenaged featherweight attempted to beat the count, rising to his feet but failing to offer a sufficient response to the question of whether he was fit to the continue.

The fight was halted on the spot, much to the chagrin of Barrientes who vehemently protested the stoppage. It was to no avail, as he falls to 3-1 (2KOs) on the same night when twin brother Chavez Barrientes scored a stoppage win over Paul Carroll.

Lawson heads back to Tuscaloosa an unbeaten fighter, improving—in every sense of the word—to 4-0 (3KOs). 

The bout aired as a supporting swing bout to a 10-round super middleweight clash between David Morrell (3-0, 2KOs) and Mike Gavronski (26-3-1, 16KOs).

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