A day after Bravo bragged about his chin and power at their weigh-in, Cruz emphatically ended their foul-filled fight with a left hook that knocked out his rule-bending challenger in the sixth round at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. That shot sent Bravo to the seat of his trunks, and he didn’t get up before referee Thomas Taylor counted to 10 at 1:30.

Cruz (29-3-2, 19 KOs), who went off as a 7-1 favorite, retained his WBC interim 140-pound championship in a main event DAZN streamed internationally. Bravo (24-2, 17 KOs) lost by knockout for the first time in 11 years as a pro.

“Listen, the performance speaks for itself,” Cruz told DAZN’s Chris Mannix in the ring before he called out WBC welterweight champ Ryan Garcia. “The left hand, I was prepared for anything he brought to the table and my plan worked.”

Cruz was ahead by the same score, 50-42, on all three cards entering the sixth because Taylor deducted two points from Bravo for fouls, one apiece in the second and fourth.

Mexico City’s Cruz, 28, fought for the first time since his hard-fought, 12-round majority draw with Lamont Roach on December 6.

Puerto Rico’s Bravo, 32, recorded a “Knockout of the Year” candidate in his previous appearance when he violently stopped Pedro Campa in the second round January 10. He didn’t approach Cruz with nearly the same determination.

Two rounds before Cruz crushed Bravo with the left hook, Taylor deducted a second point from Bravo 18 seconds into the fourth for flinging his opponent to the canvas. Taylor reiterated to Bravo that he was on the verge of disqualification.

Bravo landed what Taylor called an accidental low blow that caused another break in the action with 51 seconds on the clock in the third.

Taylor took a point from Bravo with 2:13 to go in the second due to incessant holding. Then, with 1:40 remaining, Taylor told Bravo he was close to getting disqualified after he picked up Cruz and dropped him to the canvas.

Cruz caught Bravo with a left hook that buzzed him at the midway mark of the opening round. Bravo held and wrestled Cruz to the canvas, which led to Taylor counting a knockdown because he was hurt.

Bravo tried to punch with Cruz once the action continued, but he realized it was a mistake. He held some more, which led to another warning from Taylor. Bravo was warned yet again by Taylor toward the end of the first round.