By Keith Idec

Tevin Farmer knocked out the supposed puncher in their fight Saturday night.

The IBF super featherweight champion knocked down James Tennyson once apiece with body shots in the fourth and fifth rounds. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped their scheduled 12-rounder at 1:44 of the fifth round, following the second knockdown at TD Garden in Boston.

Philadelphia’s Farmer (27-4-1, 6 KOs, 1 NC) brutalized Tennyson’s body for four-plus rounds to score his first knockout in more than three years. The smooth southpaw also made the first defense of the IBF 130-pound title he won by out-pointing Australia’s Billy Dib on August 3 in Eveleigh, Australia.

Northern Ireland’s Tennyson (22-3, 18 KOs) lost by technical knockout for the third time in his six-year pro career.

A round after flooring Tennyson with a left to the body, Farmer drilled with another left to the body that made Tennyson move away from him. About 15 seconds later, yet another left to the body dropped Tennyson again.

As Tennyson sprawled out on his gloves and knees, Mercante stopped the fight. He told Tennyson, “That’s it. Another day, kid, another day.”

Farmer’s defensive display was impressive early in the fourth round, when, backed into a corner, he made Tennyson miss with multiple power punches and moved back to the center of the ring. Then Farmer landed another hard left to Tennyson’s body, which sent Tennyson to the canvas with 50 seconds to go in the fourth.

Tennyson got off his gloves and knees to finish the round.

Tennyson landed two short left hooks to Farmer’s head and a pair of hard rights to Farmer’s body during the second half of the third round. Farmer hit Tennyson with a combination to the body toward the end of the third round.

Farmer hit Tennyson with a hard left to the body in the final minute of the second round. Farmer connected with an overhand left later in the second round and added a left to the body before it ended.

Tennyson had difficulty throughout the first round laying a glove on the elusive Farmer, who used his jab and smoothly moved out of Tennyson’s punching range.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.