THIRD time was the charm for Lester Martinez, sending a startling statement to the super middleweight division with a fourth-round stoppage win over Joeshon James in their California headliner.

The fight card saw the Guatemalan make the first defence of his WBA Continental title earned against former IBO world titleholder Carlos Gongora last summer and he wasted no time ending a nine-month layoff here.

Much was said in the build-up about the 29-year-old's recent withdrawals, having pushed his body through camp first time around with a "small tear" before being "as sick as a dog," according to his trainer Brian "BoMac" McIntyre when their original September 2024 timeline turned into a rescheduled February date.

Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs) showed precisely why many herald his punching power against an overeager adversary in James (9-1-2, 5 KOs), who seemed uncomfortably content eating right hands and piercing jabs early on.

That foreshadowed a devastating end for the 26-year-old, having absorbed a vicious overhand right he didn't see coming before a left hook followed it as the pre-fight favourite could smell blood to end round three.

His legs were all over the place but somehow the Sacramento resident beat the referee's count and survived the round, only to be crumbled in a heap on the canvas again early in the fourth.

An uppercut and right hand combination was enough to penetrate the younger man's leaky defences once more, having failed to make the necessary adjustments and maintain distance against a puncher who made him pay.

Both landed 58 punches, though the No. 2-ranked WBA contender made his count in some style.

Hernandez recovers to outwork Lucero in ten-round tussle

Attack was the best form of defence for Vladimir Hernandez in the evening's co-main event, rallying from a second-round knockdown to outwork and wear on Isaias Lucero during a nip-and-tuck 10-round junior-middleweight battle.

A 95-94 Lucero scorecard was overruled by 96-93 and 97-92 cards in Hernandez's favour, securing a deserving split decision nod as he's now on a three-fight win streak for the first time since 2021.

This was a case of deja vu for the stubborn Mexican, climbing off the canvas to outpoint Raul Garcia last September, as the 35-year-old's tireless workrate and chin durability saw him overwhelm his compatriot.

The pair threw more than 1,400 punches between them in ten rounds, though Hernandez (17-6, 7 KOs) was far more accurate with his power shots (161-of-442, 36.4%) to Lucero (150-of-517, 29%) on a night where the older man's experience paid dividends down the stretch.

Lucero (19-3, 13 KOs), who has floated between weight divisions during his six-year pro career, is best suited to welterweight and most notably gave unbeaten contender Souleymane Cissokho (17-0, 9 KOs) a deceptively difficult night's work in Monte-Carlo two years ago.

After a slow but promising start from the 29-year-old, punctuated by a perfectly-placed right uppercut to drop Hernandez in round two, his output noticeably slowed.

Badly cut and in early trouble, Hernandez responded demonstratively. Is that all you've got? Relentless forward pressure and punch flurries took a toll on the younger man's conditioning and punch selection, looking noticeably weary as they entered the second-half of an exhausting tussle.

Lucero's work was messier, single shots whizzing with bad intentions but without much thought as he embraced a firefight in centre ring. Hernandez's tactic had worked a treat by the latter stages and he had the last laugh when the scores were read out before a warm embrace.

Super-middleweight: Lester Martinez KO4 Joeshon James

Junior-middleweight: Vladimir Hernandez SD10 Isaias Lucero

Super-featherweight: Jessie Magdaleno TKO3 Luis Coria

WBA super-flyweight world title: Jasmine Artiga MD10 (95-95, 98-92, 96-94) Regina Chavez

Lightweight: Charles Harris Jnr UD8 Angel Rebollar

Welterweight: Kelvin Davis KO4 Jose Marruffo

Lightweight: Charlie Sheehy TKO7 Cesar Suarez