Former junior welterweight titleholder Subriel Matias continued his streak of wins coming by way of knockout Saturday, stopping Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela and earning the status of mandatory challenger to IBF junior welterweight titleholder Richardson Hitchins.

Matias earned a technical knockout over Valenzuela in the eighth round at Coliseo Tomas Dones in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes and 55 seconds.

Matias, 32, a Fajardo native, marched forward from the opening bell aiming to apply pressure. Valenzuela circled around him in the first round and then obliged him in the second as Matias began to land hooks with both hands, drawing loud cheers from his hometown fans.

The two fought in close quarters in the third, trading hooks that landed cleanly. Redness began to show under Valenzuela’s right eye. They stood toe-to-toe trading on the inside, neither taking a backwards step, as Matias rocked Valenzuela toward the end of the round to send an eruption of applause through the crowd. 

Matias, who weaponizes pace, appeared to have fatigued Valenzuela by the fourth round as blood flowed into the right eye of Valenzuela, who pawed at it multiple times during the round. Matias also showed some dynamic boxing in the round.

The doctor inspected Valenzuela’s eye heading into the fifth round but allowed the fight to continue. Matias continued his onslaught, throwing punches in bunches at a relentless pace. Yet with the fight in jeopardy of being stopped, Valenzuela had his best round of the fight. Matias continued to plow forward in the sixth as Valenzuela fought back, but Matias was breaking down his veteran opponent with pressure and accurate punches. 

To start the seventh, the doctor was once again called upon to examine Valenzuela’s cut by the referee, which led to an extended conversation with  Valenzuela. The result was that Valenzuela got to see another round. Matias continued to come forward, landing combinations, but although Valenzuela’s punch volume had dipped, his toughness had not, as Valenzula refused to give in after being presented numerous opportunities to do so. A right hand followed by a left hook, forcing Valenzuela to a knee. As the fighter got to his feet, the referee waved off the fight. Both fighters embraced after a grueling and physical fight.

Matias improved to 22-2 (22 KOs), while Valenzuela, a 30-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico, fell to 30-4-1 (17 KOs).

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.