NEW YORK — Andy Cruz continued his ambitious march toward a lightweight title fight Saturday night.

The Cuban-born Olympic gold medalist pummeled courageous Japanese underdog Hironori Mishiro for four-plus rounds, until referee Eric Dali ended their 12-round IBF elimination match in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

A faster, sharper, stronger Cruz (6-0, 3 KOs) dropped Mishiro (17-2-1, 6 KOs) twice in the third round and mostly hammered his overmatched opponent with power punches before Dali stepped between them in the fifth to prevent more punishment.

Mishiro, who lost inside the distance for the first time, was on his feet when the bout ended. Dali officially stopped the action at 1:13 in DAZN's co-feature before Richardson Hitchins defended his IBF junior welterweight title against George Kambosos Jr. in the 12-round main event.

His victory over Mishiro elevated Cruz into the No. 1 spot in the IBF's lightweight rankings. He entered the ring as the sanctioning body's No. 3 contender for Raymond Muratalla's title, two spots in front of Mishiro.

Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs), of Fontana, California, was elevated from IBF interim champion to the status of full champion when former champ Vasiliy Lomachenko announced his retirement June 5.

Cruz overwhelmed an almost defenseless Mishiro with rights and lefts during the one-sided fifth round.

Mishiro fought back during the fourth after Cruz dropped him twice in the third. Cruz still landed the more punishing punches, mostly right hands, yet a determined Mishiro showed he wouldn’t go away without putting up more of a fight.

A right hand by Cruz backed up Mishiro a little less than a minute into the third. Another right hand hurt Mishiro and enabled Cruz to follow up with yet another right that knocked him to the canvas with 1:16 to go.

Mishiro answered Dali's count in time, but Cruz battered him until he dropped him with another right just before the bell sounded. Dali allowed the fight to continue once Mishiro got up again.

Cruz's combination punching temporarily stopped Mishiro from using his jab with about 30 seconds to go in the second round.