NEW YORK – Juanmita Lopez DeJesus put on a dominant performance Saturday night at the same venue where one of his famous father’s most memorable bouts took place.

Lopez DeJesus dropped Jorge Gonzalez-Sanchez twice in the first round, again in the second round and scored a second-round technical knockout on the undercard preceding Xander Zayas' 12-round decision win over Jorge Garcia in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Referee Shada Murdaugh stopped their scheduled four-round junior bantamweight bout at 1:14 of the second round.

Puerto Rico’s Gonzalez-Sanchez (5-3, 4 KOs) protested the stoppage after Lopez DeJesus’ right hook knocked him to the canvas. Gonzalez-Sanchez complained of being hit behind the head, in what produced the third and final knockdown of their bout.

Puerto Rico’s Lopez DeJesus (3-0, 2 KOs), the 19-year-old son of former junior featherweight and featherweight champ Juan Manuel Lopez, represented Puerto Rico at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Lopez DeJesus first sent Gonzalez-Sanchez to the canvas 59 seconds into the opening round. Gonzalez-Sanchez got up quickly after using both of his gloves to keep from going all the way down.

A left-right combination sent Gonzalez-Sanchez down again later in the first round, but he got up again and made it to the second round.

In the bout before Lopez DeJesus defeated Gonzalez-Sanchez, Dominican featherweight prospect Yan Santana easily out-boxed Aaron Alameda – the most experienced, successful opponent of his three-year pro career.

Judges Ron McNair, Kevin Morgan and Waleska Roldan all scored their 10-rounder a shutout for Santana, who won 100-90 on all of their cards. Santana (15-0, 12 KOs) went the distance for the third time in his past four fights.

Mexico’s Alameda (30-3, 17 KOs) had won five straight bouts before Santana beat him. His two previous losses, both decision defeats, came against eventual IBF featherweight champ Angelo Leo and former WBC junior featherweight and bantamweight champ Luis Nery.

Earlier Saturday night, 21-year-old junior bantamweight prospect Steven Navarro earned a hard-fought, unanimous points victory over Cristopher Rios in an eight-rounder.

Los Angeles’ Navarro (7-0, 5 KOs) won by the same score, 77-75, on all three scorecards. Rios, also from Los Angeles, slipped to 11-3 (7 KOs).