ANAHEIM, California — Julian Rodriguez never stopped attacking Avious Griffin. And it paid off in the final dramatic seconds.

Rodriguez, who fought his previously unbeaten opponent on even terms for nine-plus rounds, stopped him with only five seconds in the 10th and final round of a welterweight fight on the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. card Saturday.

The victory was the biggest of Rodriguez’s career. And it was particularly sweet given that Paul, Griffin’s promoter, said in the lead-up that he’d never heard of Rodriguez.

“I thought I was up [on the cards],” said Rodiguez, whose nickname is “Hammer Hands.” “I knew I was on a Jake Paul promotion, though. I knew I had to try to solidify so I went hard in the last seconds. What can I say? It’s Hammer time.”

Two judges had the fight even entering the final round (85-85). The other had it 86-84 for Rodriguez.

Griffin (17-1, 16 KOs) was the knockout artist, having stopped his previous 10 opponents. However, that didn’t faze Rodriguez (24-1, 15 KOs)

He engaged Griffin from beginning to end, attacking hard, but responsibly when he saw openings. And he landed some eye-catching shots, more than Griffin did, according to CompuBox.

Griffin caught Rodriguez with one significant blow, a right to the side of the head that forced him to one knee in eighth round. However, Rodriguez bounced back immediately to take the fight to Griffin once again.

The two were engaged in an exchange in Round 10 when a left from Rodriguez buckled Griffin’s knees. Rodriguez followed with a flurry that put his wounded opponent into the ropes and down. He couldn’t beat the count, which gave Rodriguez and the fans a memorable stoppage.

The 30-year-old from New Jersey was asked what went through his mind after the knockout.

“Everything I’d been through,” he said. "All the sacrifice, all the pain to get to this point. And it’s still the [expletive] beginning. It was all emotion. Now I’ll get right back to the gym in the next two or three weeks.”