Jose Uzcategui hands Julius Jackson his first loss with second-round TKO

Jose Uzcategui started fast and never let up, dropping Julius Jackson three times in the first round and once more in the second before referee Tony Weeks stopped it 45 seconds into the second round Tuesday night at Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio.

The loss, in a scheduled 12-round super middleweight bout on Premier Boxing Champions' "Toe-to-Toe Tuesday" on FS1, knocked Jackson from the unbeaten ranks as his record fell to 19-1 (15 KOs).

Uzcategui, 24, from Venezuela, improved to 24-1 with 20 KOs.

"Our plan was to go round by round, but sometimes opportunities arise," Uzcategui said. "As soon as I saw I hurt him I took advantage. Speed was the key tonight. I want to thank my entire team because they constantly drilled into me that when (Jackson) throws the jab I should immediately shoot the right hand over the top."

Uzcategui said he never underestimated his opponent but when he realized his advantage, jumped all over Jackson.

"I knew that he was a great athlete, and a good fighter, so I came out here and did what I had to do," he said. "I know what it's like to have a stumble in the course of my career though, so I hope he doesn't get discouraged by this. But tonight was mine."

Jackson, from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, said he remembers getting hit but not much after that.

"We wanted to control the fight with my jab, but he countered well and hurt me. I never recovered after that," he said. "I never thought about holding. I was busy working. I was trying to pop something in between and got caught."

In the opening televised bout, Argenis Mendez (23-3-1, 12 KOs) scored a unanimous decision (99-90, 97-92, 95-94) over Miguel Vazquez (35-5, 13 KOs).