Victor Faust enjoyed his earliest night in the ring since his pro debut.

The unbeaten Ukrainian heavyweight prospect blasted out Poland’s Jacek Piatek inside of one round Saturday evening at Box Gym in Cologne, Germany.

A series of power shots had Piatek in trouble, with a final right hand forcing him to the canvas and producing the stoppage at 2:15 of round one.

Faust—whose real name is Viktor Vykhryst—was in full control from the outset, putting his height, reach and overall skill advantage to proper use in the battle of unbeaten heavyweights. Piatek (11-1, 9KOs) served as target practice as Faust pummeled the Polish pug with left hooks and right hands.

A three-punch combination left Piatek dazed, with an ensuing volley forcing him to retreat. Faust closed the show with a final right hand, forcing Piatek to the canvas. The referee saw enough, immediately waving off the contest.

Faust improves to 7-0 (6KOs). The Hamburg, Germany-based prospect has now fought six times since the pandemic.

Also on the show, veteran fringe contender Christian Hammer (26-7, 16KOs) returned to the win column following a 3rd round knockout of made-to-order Polish journeyman Patryk Kowoll (7-25, 5KOs). Hammer battered and repeatedly dropped Kowoll in forcing a mercy stoppage in his first fight following a 10-round loss to 2016 Olympic Gold medalist Tony Yoka last November in France.

Hammer was on standby in the event that Las Vegas’ Christopher Lovejoy (19-0, 19KOs) was forced out of his highly anticipated showdown with WBA heavyweight “Champion in Recess” Mahmoud Charr (31-4, 17KOs) in the evening’s main event. Lovejoy was confirmed to be available for the headliner, allowing Hammer to proceed with his undercard appearance in present form.

Also on the undercard, Istanbul’s Volkan Gokcek earned a 4th round stoppage of Georgian prospect Giorgi Mtchedlidze (4-1-1) in a battle of undefeated junior welterweights.

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