And he did just that, knocking out Burgos in the second round of a Misfits Pro undercard at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. Ashton Sylve is scheduled to face former junior lightweight champion JoJo Diaz in at 10-round junior welterweight main event.

Mercado (19-0, 18 KOs), who has won eight consecutive fights, is ranked in the top 10 by three of the four sanctioning bodies at 140 pounds.

Burgos (36-9-3, 22 KOs), who fought for world titles at featherweight and junior lightweight, had lost to Andy Cruz, Keyshawn Davis, Devin Haney and Mikey Garcia but heard the final bell each time.

On Friday, the skill gap was evident from the beginning. Mercado, of Upland, California, walked down Burgos and kept him pinned against the ropes and battered him to the head and body. Mercado’s speed advantage was also clear as he moved in and out of range without getting caught by the 38-year-old.

The damage accumulated quickly. Late in the second round, Mercado, 24, landed a short right hand and left hook that dropped Burgos. The Mexican was in clear discomfort but beat referee Ray Corona’s count.

Mercado walked Burgos into a neutral corner and landed a straight right hand that sent him to the canvas again, and he was unable to beat Corona’s count.

In other preliminary bouts:

10 rounds, lightweight: Devin Cushing (19-0, 14 KOs) def. J’Hon Ingram (9-1, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 97-93)

10 rounds, middleweight: Amir Anderson (8-0, 7 KOs) def. Jonas Sylvain (9-1-1, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision (100-89, 100-89, 100-89)

8 rounds, welterweight: David Lopez (9-0, 7 KOs) def. Joey Borrero (12-3, 9 KOs) by first-round TKO

4 rounds, super flyweight: Kayla Gomez (1-0) def. Shayntain Creer (0-1) by unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)