Leo Atang stays unbeaten with second-round KO on US debut

British heavyweight prospect Leo Atang knocked out Glen Williams in the second round on his first appearance on US soil, moving his professional record to 8-0 with seven stoppages.

The 19-year-old, who is promoted by Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing, fought on the undercard of Diego Pacheco's super-middleweight main event at Dignity Health Sports Park in California. Williams, 36, came into the bout with four professional fights behind him.

What happened

Atang forced the stoppage by backing Williams against the ropes with a left hand before unloading a series of shots to the head. After Williams failed to respond, referee Ray Armendariz waved the fight off in the second round.

It was a second successive quick night for the Yorkshire fighter, who stopped 40-year-old Fouad Shaili in one round in Sheffield in his previous outing. Atang has said he is content to build gradually rather than be rushed towards the top of the division, and has played down early comparisons with Anthony Joshua.

With Atang now comfortably past the level of opposition he has been matched against so far, Hearn faces the task of identifying a suitable step up for his next fight.

• Atang, 19, is now 8-0 as a professional with seven knockouts
• He stopped 36-year-old Glen Williams in round two in California
• It was his first fight in the United States
• The bout featured on the undercard of Diego Pacheco's main event

Pacheco defends titles and targets Munguia

In the main event, 25-year-old Diego Pacheco stopped American Immanuwel Aleem in the 11th round to retain his WBC Silver and WBO International super-middleweight titles. Pacheco, now 26-0, controlled much of the fight with his jab and said afterwards that he had read and studied his opponent round by round.

Pacheco used his post-fight platform to call out WBA champion Jaime Munguia, saying he wants the biggest fight available to him next. For Atang, the priority is a steady rise through the heavyweight ranks, with Matchroom expected to confirm his next opponent in the coming months.