Michel Soro shocks Glen Tapia with brutal TKO on truTV

Glen Tapia was the house fighter, a Top Rank boxer competing on his promoter's show and close to his hometown of Passaic, N.J. He even represented his home state with a Sopranos jersey and his moniker, "Jersey Boy," emblazoned on his trunks.

But for the second time in five fights, Tapia suffered a brutal stoppage loss, this time to Michel Soro in the main event of truTV's Friday Night Knockout from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Soro, 27, clipped Tapia with an overhand right that almost put the 25-year-old flat on his face. Tapia (23-2, 15 KOs) found his balance, but the damage was done. Soro (26-1-1, 16 KOs) was a sharpshooter from then on. He landed a series of clean, hard shots that wobbled Tapia around the ring, forcing referee David Fields to wisely step in at 2:10 of Round 4.

MORE: Kirkland promises Canelo won't go distance

"I'm just real mad that I couldn't perform in front of my home crowd," a clearly embarrassed Tapia said afterward. "… I'm going to bounce back."

The French junior middleweight showed a nice jab and boxed beautifully at times while the hard-charging Tapia tried to pin him on the ropes. Soro was just too skilled and Tapia too slow.

Soro's only professional loss came vs. Zaurbek Baysangurov in 2012. With the impressive performance he's likely to get another opportunity in a loaded 154-pound weight class.

Tapia, on the other hand, has much to think about. Though he's just 25, the Freddie Roach-trained fighter has now been on the wrong end of two brutal defeats. The other came at the heavy hands of James Kirkland on HBO in 2013, the kind of fight that ruins many young boxers.

Kirkland fights Canelo Alvarez on HBO on Saturday night.