Matthew Macklin landed 31 of 61 punches, knocked Joachim Alcine down twice, and ended things at just 2:36 of the first round tonight on the Chavez Jr vs Martinez undercard when referee Jay Nady stepped in to call a halt to the action as Macklin unloaded on Alcine again.

This was a fight made as a get-well bout for Macklin (29-4, 20 KO), and it was just what the doctor ordered, as veteran Alcine just didn't appear to have the legs, and never recovered from an early clubbing right that sent him to the canvas.

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The fight was reminiscent of the last time we saw Alcine (33-3-1, 19 KO) on HBO, when he was finished in 2:59 by Alfredo Angulo back in 2010. He scored a win over busted prospect David Lemieux last year, and he's a former junior middleweight titlist, but at 36, he just doesn't take hard shots all that well anymore, even if he can still box pretty well when he avoids the heavy blows.

It's a big win for Macklin, not so much because he beat a top fighter (he beat a decent fighter), but because it keeps him in the mix for major fights at 160 pounds. There are plenty of guys he could face. He'd be a great challenger for IBF/WBA champion Daniel Geale, for instance, or a fun matchup for WBA "regular" titlist Gennady Golovkin.

For Alcine, this might have been the last fight he'll get on this level. He's been a solid fighter and has had a fine career, but it's tough to get major dates when you've been stopped in the first round in both of your last two really big opportunities in HBO fights.

Our live coverage of Chavez Jr vs Martinez continues here, with Matthew Macklin vs Joachim Alcine up next.