ORLANDO, Florida — The 19-year-olds ranked in the top 15 by one of the four major sanctioning bodies can be counted on one hand.

Kaipo Gallegos continued his rapid rise, delivering a dominant performance with a second-round stoppage of Alberto Mercado on Friday night at Caribe Royale. Mercado previously lost unanimous decisions to current junior lightweight champions O’Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) and Lamont Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs), as well as the WBA’s No. 1-ranked lightweight, Floyd Schofield Jr. (19-0, 13 KOs).

Time is on Gallegos’ side, though, and with him not turning 20 until March, his promoter, Boxlab President Amaury Piedra, will take his time with the development of his prized prospect.

“Kaipo has looked great so far in his whole professional career,” Piedra told The Ring. “He’s an extremely talented and advanced young man. He showed again his combination of boxing skill and power. When you look at him putting the combinations he puts together, it's like a much more advanced, older fighter, and you forget that he’s 19 years old. I think the biggest thing with him is to keep letting him mature physically and let him keep maturing as a fighter.”

Gallegos (10-0-1, 8 KOs) displayed all the skills that make him one of boxing’s most intriguing prospects.

A southpaw, he performed like a fighter well beyond his years, consistently making Mercado (17-9-1, 4 KOs) miss, countering him at will and connecting with combinations throughout. The Las Vegas native also attacked the head and body and planted the seeds for a quick night when he dropped Mercado late in the first round with a straight left hand to the liver.

From there, Gallegos, who is ranked No. 15 by the WBA at junior lightweight, continued to pick up the pressure and battered Puerto Rico’s Mercado before hurting him again to the body and sending him to the canvas a second time in the waning moments of the second round. Not long after the end of it, Mercado’s corner stopped the fight.

“I thought he was a tough opponent and an experienced fighter,” Gallegos told The Ring. “He's been in there with a lot of tough fighters. I feel like he hasn't been in the ring with someone like me. It was a different look for him, and we got the job done early.”

Piedra hopes that a step up in competition is next for Gallegos. But even with how promising Gallegos has looked, patience will remain when it comes to the next steps of his career.

“Next is either do another eight-rounder or try to move him up to 10 rounds already, and again, move up the level of competition a little bit,” Piedra said. “[It’s] time to move up the level of competition and just keep him going. He's still young; he’s still a kid, so you can imagine where he is now. Where is he going to be when he’s 21, 22? The biggest thing is to have patience, not rush the process, but keep him moving ever so softly up the talent scale and his opposition.”