Adrian Granados shocks Amir Imam with eighth-round stoppage

Amir Imam can kiss his WBC mandatory status goodbye.

He was rising quickly through the junior welterweight ranks, but Adrian Granados stopped Imam in his tracks with a shocking eighth-round stoppage Saturday at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City on ShoExtreme.

Adrian Granados upsets top prospect @AmirImamBoxing in a thrilling 8 round back-and-forth with a TKO finish #Boxinghttps://t.co/qtoaBKaD8U- SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) November 29, 2015Granados (17-4-2, 12 KOs) was dropped hard in Round 1, but rose off the canvas and never stopped coming forward in a good action fight. He laid a beating on the sharp-shooting Imam, BoxingJunkie's No. 6 140-pounder, and pounded him into submission at 2:34 of Round 8. Granados buckled Imam into the ropes, and then let his fists go furiously, seemingly connecting with every shot until referee Alain Villeneuve haled the contest."It feels great. Once I had him wobbled I was like, 'you've got to get him now,'" Granados said. "This time you're not taking it from me. It was a flash knockdown. He caught with the right hand, but I was alright. I just popped right up and I knew he was going to try and finish me. We got out of it and went right back to work."Imam (18-1, 15 KOs) was the No. 1 contender to the belt held by Viktor Postol, but will surely fall from that position with this result. Two judges had Granados ahead at the time of stoppage, while one had it even."I know people might say I shouldn't have taken this fight, but I needed this fight in between as a tune-up for my next fight because I didn't want to wait for the six to eight months for the world title shot," Imam said. "The key to the fight was my jab, I just didn't use it enough, Imam said. "But that's the way it goes and I'm going to definitely come back stronger."Imam was considered a heavy favorite and this was seen a stay-busy fight while he prepared for Postol next year. Granados upset the apple cart, and with his pressure style, will certainly be back."I believe I should be the mandatory challenger," said Granados. "He was in line and I stopped him. What does that mean? Come on. I was the underdog, but I just came to take it. I came to take it."