ANAHEIM, California — Raul Curiel needed one punch to turn a close fight into a compelling victory.

Curiel put Victor Rodriguez down with a hard right to the head, hurting him badly in the process, and then finished the job at 2:09 of Round 4 of a scheduled 12-round welterweight WBA title eliminator on the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. card Saturday night.

Curiel (16-0-1, 14 KOs) had said he wouldn’t be satisfied with a decision victory.

“It was a title eliminator, so I put in the work,” he said. “I knew it was going to end with a knockout. I didn’t know what round, but a knockout. I was strong.”

So was Rodriguez (16-1-1, 9 KOs), a rugged Uruguayan who battled Curiel toe-to-toe for three-plus rounds of what had been a close, high-energy fight.

The end came quickly. The big blow was a right uppercut to the head, which might’ve have damaged Rodriguez’s right eye. He was in considerable pain when he voluntarily went to the canvas.

He was able to get up, but a few more punches from Curiel — and none in return — prompted the referee to stop the fight. Afterward, his eye was swollen and bleeding.

Curiel was asked who he wants to fight next. Rolando Romero is the top 147-pounder ranked by the WBA now that champion Jaron Ennis has moved up in weight.

“Whoever, whatever champion is available,” he said. “Let’s do a fight with Rolly. Let’s do a fight with all the champions.”