Cotto vs Trout results: Jayson Velez thrashes Salvador Sanchez II, sets up Ponce De Leon fight

Jayson Velez had no problems tonight beating Salvador Sanchez II, who looks like his Hall of Fame uncle and fights nothing like him, setting up a WBC featherweight title fight with Daniel Ponce De Leon for next year.

Velez (20-0, 15 KO) stopped Sanchez II (30-5-3, 18 KO) in the third round, battering him in the second and scoring a late knockdown, which set up an early knockdown in the third, followed by another barrage and the referee jumping into to mercifully stop the mismatch.

Ponce De Leon is certainly a tougher ask of the 24-year-old Puerto Rican, and a huge jump in class from the likes of Sanchez II, or even past opponents like tough gatekeeper Jose Angel Beranza. Ponce De Leon is a legit top five guy at 126 pounds, not some paper titlist, and Velez will have his work cut out for him trying to leap up in levels that much.

The good news for Velez is that he did what he should have done tonight with Sanchez II, whose record is paper-thin. There was no waiting around, no feeling-out. After he gauged Sanchez II in the opening frame, he went for the kill, and he got it.

Our live coverage of Cotto-Trout continues here, with the main event coming up next.