NEWARK, New Jersey – Norman "Pooh" Neely needed less than a round to satisfy his loud, proud fans Saturday night.

The heavyweight from nearby Paterson stopped James Willis in the first round of their six-round heavyweight fight on the Vito Mielnicki-Kamil Gardzielik undercard at Prudential Center. Neely (16-1, 11 KOs) buzzed Willis with a left hand and then drilled him with a right hand knocking Willis into the ropes.

Referee Eric Dali determined Willis was too hurt to continue after taking those two punches. Dali halted the action while Willis was on his feet 2:08 into the first round.

Willis (6-2-1, 5 KOs), a southpaw from Roanoke, Virginia, lost by knockout for the first time in nine professional fights.

The following fight didn’t last much longer.

Arjan Iseni, a light heavyweight prospect from Staten Island, New York, dropped Kaine Tomlinson Jr. three times before their scheduled four-rounder was stopped at 1:03 of the second round.

Iseni (4-0, 4 KOs) hit Tomlinson with left hands that knocked him to the canvas twice in the first round. Another left hand by Iseni sent Tomlinson down again early in the second round, which made referee Mary Glover immediately stop their fight.

Tomlinson, of Lynchburg, Virginia, slipped to 1-1.

Earlier Saturday, Newark’s Muadh Abdus-Salaam won his pro debut by beating Roberto Cantos on two of three scorecards. One judge scored their competitive welterweight fight a draw (38-38), but Abdus-Salaam won 40-36 and 39-37 on the other two scorecards to take a majority decision.

Cantos, of Orange, Virginia, put up a respectable effort, despite that his record dropped to 1-4. Abdus-Salaam stunned him with a left hook in the fourth round, yet Cantos came back to land hard punches of his own before the final bell sounded.

In the bout before Abdus-Salaam’s win, Kahshad Elliott beat Titus Ashe by unanimous decision in a physical fight during which both boxers utilized rule-bending tactics. Elliott (5-0, 2 KOs), of Plainfield, New Jersey, beat Baltimore’s Ashe (1-1, 1 KO) on all three scorecards (38-35, 38-36, 38-36).

In the first fight Saturday, cruiserweight prospect Jamar Talley dropped Kurt Fleming three times and stopped him in the second round.

Talley (3-0, 3 KOs), of Camden, New Jersey, first floored Fleming about 20 seconds into their bout. Fleming (3-1, 2 KOs), of Lynchburg, Virginia, made it through the opening round, but Talley sent him to the canvas twice more in the second round.

Their scheduled four-rounder was stopped at 1:04 of the second round.