Giorgio Campanella caught Oscar De La Hoya's attention early, then paid the price for doing so.
De La Hoya, stunned by a knockdown only seconds into his fight Friday night with the Italian challenger, came back with a furious assault to knock Campanella down twice before finally ending the fight with a flurry of punches in the third round to retain his WBO junior lightweight title."I felt I could stop him with my power," De La Hoya said. "It just took some time to get going."
It was the 13th straight win as a pro for the Olympic gold medalist.
De La Hoya, of East Los Angeles, was paid $500,000, while Campanella earned $25,000. Campanella fell to 20-1 in his first fight outside of Europe.
The short but exciting fight topped a card of three title fights at the MGM Grand Garden arena, none of which lasted past the third round.
Earlier, Roy Jones Jr. staked his claim to being boxing's best middleweight with a single devastating left hook that sent Thomas Tate sprawling to the canvas.
It was the only punch of the second round for Jones, who was defending his IBF middleweight title for the first time against Tate.
In another title fight, Rafael Ruelas wasted little time in his first IBF lightweight defense Friday night, stopping outclassed Mike Evgen in the third round.