Xander Zayas was fighting in his adopted home state of Florida for just the third time in his career though the first time with fans in attendance.

The occasion didn’t at all go to waste for the 18-year-old Puerto Rican, who scored a 1st round knockout of Little Rock’s Demarcus Layton. A volley of power punches punctuated by a left hook dropped Layton, prompting the stoppage at 0:56 of round one Saturday evening in front of a sellout crowd at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.

The scheduled six-round welterweight bout saw a rare occasion where Zayas (8-0, 6KOs) was at a rare size disadvantage against the 6’2” Layton. It merely provided a bigger target for the rising prospect from Plantation, Florida by way of San Juan, who went on the attack early and never relented.

Layton (8-2-1, 5KOs) had plenty to say prior to the fight, particularly during Friday’s contentious post weigh-in staredown. He was silenced once the punches began flying, with Zayas precise on the attack and not letting up until he closed the show.

The fight-ending sequence came barely 40 seconds into the fight. Zayas connected with a body shot, hurting Layton and pinning him along the ropes. An ensuing volley saw Zayas connect with a right hand and a left hook, the latter which produced the bout’s lone knockdown. Layton beat the count but was deemed unfit to continue, despite an in-ring protest complete with Layton slamming his mouthpiece on the canvas in disgust.

Zayas picks up his second win of 2021, coming two months after going six rounds for the first time in his career in outpointing Philadelphia’s James Martin in Las Vegas.

The bout aired live as part of an ESPN+ preliminary undercard preceding an ESPN doubleheader. Headlining the ESPN telecast, Emanuel Navarrete (33-1, 28KOs) marches into enemy territory, as the streaking Mexican defends his WBO featherweight belt versus Puerto Rico’s Christopher ‘Pitufo’ Diaz (26-2, 16KOs).

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