The team behind David Avanesyan went to extreme measures to avoid a winless 2024 campaign.

The Ring No. 4 welterweight knocked out overmatched Sadudee Srimueang in the first round on Sunday in Phuket, Thailand. A modest flurry of power shots forced Srimuaeng—a Thai southpaw based in Australia—to the canvas before the fight was waved off.

Avanesyan—a 36-year-old Armenian based in England—was given the six-round pick-up fight as means to return to the win column.

He was more than five months removed from a fifth-round knockout loss to Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) on July 13 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The opportunity was a short-notice assignment for Avanesyan, who was brought in when Cody Crowley was medically denied by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission.

Sunday’s outing was also put together in relatively quick fashion, though designed for Avanesyan to succeed. Srimueang (11-4, 6 KOs) has suffered early knockouts in all three prior defeats, which marked his only fights against opponents with winning records.

The made-to-order matchup was not wasted by Avanesyan. He was in control for the duration of the brief affair. A left hook to the body softened up Srimueang for a right hand upstairs to produce the bout’s lone knockdown. The mismatch was waved off soon thereafter.

Avanesyan (31-5-1, 18 KOs) picked up his first victory in 53 weeks.

His previous win came under similar circumstances—a scheduled six-rounder ended after just four rounds last Dec. 20 in Birmingham, England. That night marked Avanesyan’s first fight in more than 53 weeks after a sixth-round knockout loss in a Dec. 2022 WBO welterweight title bid against unbeaten three-division champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs).

Avanesyan won six in a row prior to his loss to Crawford. He bumped off three unbeaten opponents during that stretch—Kerman Lejarraga (twice) in Spain, and Josh Kelly and Oskari Metz in England.