BENGHAZI, Libya — Mirco Cuello claimed the vacant WBA Interim featherweight title with a second-round stoppage over Sergio Rios in Friday night's main event at Martyrs of Benina Stadium, Benghazi.

Cuello, The Ring's No. 8-rated featherweight, entered the contest with much to prove after producing a comeback win over Christian Barreda in the final stanza of their 10-round contest on the David Benavidez-David Morrell undercard in Las Vegas on February 1.

It appears the wake-up call to the former amateur standout was noted.

Cuello (16-0, 13 KOs) quickly and efficiently went about his business, serving notice to Rios (19-1, 7 KOs) with a big right hand that got his Mexican opponent's attention with around a minute left in the opening round. In the later stages of the same frame, another big right landed flush to dump Rios on the canvas.

The Argentine contender was in no mood to let Rios hang around and scored a second knockdown again with a right hand. While Rios made it to his feet, the end was close. Cuello charged across the ring and spotted an opening to the body, connecting on a perfect left hook which saw his agemate double up as referee Robert Ramirez Jr. counted him out.

The win brought Cuello, 24, the WBA interim title.

He hopes to level up and face full champion Nick Ball soon, who makes his third defence against Australia's unbeaten Sam Goodman (20-0, 8 KOs) on DAZN PPV come August 16 and on this evidence looks like another player in the talent rich 126-pound division.

During the evening's chief support, world-rated light heavyweight contender Albert Ramirez took out British-born New Zealand-based contender Jerome Pampellone in seven rounds.

Ramirez, The Ring's No. 6-rated contender at 175-pounds, had to deal with Pampellone's cagey tactics in the early going during an encounter fought slowly as both sought to counter one another.

With limited action, Ramirez (22-0, 19 KOs) went on the back foot trying to force Pampellone (19-3, 12 KOs) into initiating some attacks. The fight was drifting until Ramirez suddenly stepped on the gas late in the sixth round, pressing forward with sustained attack.

Those advances proved fruitful and yielded a knockdown in the closing seconds of this round, as the 29-year-old could consider himself fortunate to survive.

The 33-year-old Venezuelan jumped on Pampellone early in the seventh, scoring a second knockdown soon enough. As he smelled blood, the older man threw a volley of punches that had his rival on decidedly unsteady legs and soon enough, on the canvas again.

This time the action was mercifully waved off by referee Janny Guzman at 1:19 of the round as Ramirez collected the WBA interim title while his attempts at securing bigger fights continues. For now, it appears the division's other top players have other assignments booked but one thing is certain: Ramirez would be a tough out for any of them.

Rising junior lightweight contender Josue Aguero (14-0, 7 KOs) easily beat Diego Aleman (20-4-1, 14 KOs) to claim a 10-round unanimous decision.

The Argentine boxer was too strong and dominated proceedings behind a powerful jab, which was often followed by a strong right hand. Aleman didn't look to engage and took the safety-first approach which made their fight look like sparring at times.

While the Mexican made it to the final bell, his eight-fight winning streak was snapped rather abruptly as all three judges scored it 100-90 in the younger man's favour.

In what proved the fight of the night, perennial contender Francisco Fonseca upset unbeaten Olympic silver medallist Sofiane Oumiha with a narrow points win in their 10-round lightweight contest.

Large parts of this bout were fought at close quarters, which suited the more experienced Fonseca (37-4-2, 29 KOs). The 31-year-old has previously fallen short in world title efforts against Gervonta Davis and Tevin Farmer at junior-lightweight, though mixing it with champions at the elite level have served him well since.

Still just 31, the Nicaraguan-based Costa Rican national hurt and dropped Oumiha (6-1, 3 KOs) late in round three. Fonseca meant business in the following round, though his French opponent naturally tried using his footwork to keep away from an underdog on a mission.

While this fight seemed close throughout, it also felt as though Oumiha had been baited into fighting Fonseca's fight. At the conclusion, the judges' scorecards reflected that.

Gabriel Maciel scored it 97-92 in Fonseca's favour, while Roberto Ramirez Jr and Ignacio Robles both had it 95-94 - meaning the knockdown cost Oumiha a draw and his unblemished record in the paid ranks.

Beforehand in the evening's opening contest, former cruiserweight world title challenger Mike Perez was forced to settle for a no-contest after four completed rounds against Christian Luis.

Perez was workmanlike behind the jab early on while his Argentine opponent looked to spoil and make a fight out of things. At the very end of round four, Perez (31-3-1, 22 KOs) threw a punch that landed on Luis, deemed after the bell but unintentional.

Luis (12-4, 8 KOs) slumped to the floor and stayed there, in a performance worthy of an Oscar reminding this writer of Luis Santana's efforts during two infamous fights in the 1990s with Terry Norris. Ultimately, the officials declared it a no-contest as the 33-year-old was in no position to continue.