Justin Pauldo rose to the occasion against his toughest suggested opponent to date.

Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov entered his crossroads bout as the betting favorite but was ultimately picked apart by the Houston, Texas native. Pauldo scored two knockdowns on the night in a stunning eighth-round knockout in their lightweight contest.

The latter of two knockdowns produced an immediate stoppage at 1:53 of the eighth round in their ProBox TV-aired co-feature Saturday evening at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas.

The statement-making victory immediately transitioned to concern for Rakhimov, who was slumped over on the canvas for several minutes before he eventually made it to his feet. He walked out of the ring with assistance before he was placed on a stretcher and brought to a nearby hospital for precautionary measures.

Pauldo was game for the challenge against the former IBF 130-pound titleholder, who hadn't fought since an April 2023 points loss to then-unbeaten Joe Cordina to end his title reign.

Rakhimov offered a mild protest over a knockdown in the opening round. It appeared to be more of a push and a case of their legs getting tangled. The Tajikistani southpaw tried to shake it off but could never quite find his rhythm.

That wasn't a problem at all for Pauldo, who consistently landed his jab and especially his right hand. The Houston-based lightweight landed 255-of-574 total punches (44.4 percent) on the night, including an alarming 52.5-percent of his power shots (192-of-366) according to Compubox.

Rakhimov—who landed 72-of-390 total punches (18.5 percent)—enjoyed mild success with his straight left hand in the middle rounds. They were no match, however, for Pauldo's left hand down the middle, which often came at the tail end of a combination.

Pauldo remained in cruise control as the bout entered the second half but was not interested in leaving it to the judges. That mentality cost him a decision in his last fight, a split nod in favor of Miguel Madueño (31-3, 28 KOs) last Feb. 28 in Plant city, Florida.

A power surge reached its pinnacle midway through the eighth.

Pauldo connected with the same exact three-punch combination—double jab, right hand—in succession as Rakhimov was pinned along the ropes. The final right hand among those six punches was enough to floor the former titlist, at which point the fight was brought to an immediate halt.

Rakhimov remained on the canvas, awake but unaware of his surroundings. The ringside medical team raced into the ring and remained with him as he was taken to his dressing room and eventually to a nearby medical facility.

The night ended with his second straight defeat as Rakhimov fell to 17-2-1 (14 KOs). His last win came in Nov. 2022, when he rallied to stop Zelfa Barrett in the ninth round to win the vacant IBF 130-pound title.

Pauldo (18-2, 9 KOs) was stuck on the prospect stage and labeled as a fighter unable to put it all together when it mattered most. That dynamic drastically changed on Saturday, as he can now be viewed as at least a bubble contender in the evolving lightweight division.

Pauldo-Rakhimov served as the ProBox TV co-feature to the Ramon Cardenas-Bryan Acosta headlining act.