London Olympic gold medalist Ryota Murata maintained his perfect record as the WBC fifth-ranked middleweight knocked out Guston Alejandro Vega in a non-title bout on Saturday.
Murata, 30, floored his Argentine opponent in the second round, improving to 9-0 with six knockouts to take another step toward his first world title fight.
"I've got confidence in my right hand again," Murata said. "If I can land my right, I know I can win. I'd give myself a 70 out of 100 today."
The 32-year-old Vega suffered his 11th defeat in 37 bouts.