American heavyweight prospect Joshua Edwards wanted a stoppage win inside three rounds on his second pro appearance overnight against three-fight pro Alexander Rhodes, barely six weeks after a second-round finish on debut. He needed little over two minutes.

The 25-year-old, who represented the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics, inked a promotional agreement with Golden Boy in January and there's growing excitement about his potential.

Golden Boy Promotions chief Oscar De La Hoya waxed lyrical about the Houston native's upward trajectory and eagerly announced some news on the DAZN broadcast during the main card headlined by Bektemir Melikuziev's 12-round decision win over Darius Fulghum.

"He's the future of U.S. heavyweight boxing. I know people will say, 'What are you talking about,' but I don't need to remind you [of my accomplishments]. He'll be back on June 28th, we're excited for him... his skill level, fluid punches, footwork, his power. I like the fact his trainers are bulking him up, he's around 220-230 pounds now and we want him at 240-245.

"He's going to be somebody to reckon with in the near future because now, we'll put him right back on June 28th underneath Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr."

Edwards, who beat Fulghum when both were amateurs in November 2019, won gold at the Pan American Games in '23 to secure his Olympic berth the following summer. A split decision defeat by Italy's Diego Lenzi didn't dim an enthusiasm to ditch the unpaid ranks.

Aligned with highly regarded Ronnie Shields in his corner alongside Melvin Malone, "The Rocket" spoke of a desire for four fights this year and will steadily have his opposition level increase as exposure builds. It doesn't get much bigger than a Jake Paul summer bill.

Paul, who ambitiously wants to win a world title at some stage, has unified WBA/WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) making a mandated WBO defence against the sanctioning body's top-ranked contender Yuniel Dortico's (27-2, 25 KOs) in the evening's chief support bout next month. De La Hoya doesn't think it's a coincidence.

"I've always prided myself in working with everybody to try and make the best fights possible. That's exactly what we're doing. It's an incredible defence for Zurdo who has a lot of options afterwards," he continued when previewing their June 28 card.

Announced last week was the return of Floyd Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) after his proposed WBC lightweight championship fight against Shakur Stevenson on Feb. 22 collapsed as he fell ill in Saudi Arabia during fight week.

He'll face rugged veteran Tevin Farmer (33-8-1, 8 KOs) after the 34-year-old's unexpected two-fight series with unbeaten interim titleholder William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs), now set to challenge Stevenson two weeks later in New York for the full WBC strap.

De La Hoya hopes for a star-making performance from the 22-year-old, criticised plenty in recent months and after showing signs of vulnerability during his first 12-round contest against Rene Tellez Giron on Nov. 2. More importantly, he had more exciting news to share.

Much like the success of a Matchroom-Queensberry cross-promotional partnership to pit their best against one another, Golden Boy are looking to do the same stateside. Frank Warren's Queensberry enjoyed a clean sweep over Eddie Hearn's Matchroom June 1 in Riyadh, though talks have been shelved for a much-anticipated rematch later this year.

"I'm excited to announce I'm talking to PBC. We're going to make the best fights happen for the world to watch. All our roster at Golden Boy will go up against PBC in the near future, that's what we're putting together, we have a lot of great matches."

He named new WBC light heavyweight world champion David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) and former world titlists Isaac Cruz and Tim Tszyu — all three under the PBC banner — as attractive options for his fighters to challenge in marquee matchups.

"Vergil [Ortiz Jr] against Tim Tszyu ... or whoever they want to throw at him, let's go, we're ready."

On the topic of a much-anticipated WBA/WBO/IBF unification with Ring champion Jai Opetaia for Ramirez, he said it was a "big possibility" but again stressed the 33-year-old southpaw has options aplenty to consider if victorious again next month.

"He's got a tough mandatory but if we get through that ... if Benavidez tells me, 'Let's fight Zurdo,' we're obviously making that. It's a huge fight with PBC, I'm excited for the future."