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One left hook was all it took.
Edmonton cruiserweight James Cermak improved to 15-2 at The Palace banquet hall Saturday night, notching his 11th KO by dispatching Vancouver's Alston Brown with a bomb to the head at 2:28 of the opening round.
What made Cermak's effort even more impressive was the fact he sustained a severely inflamed sciatic nerve earlier in the week and spent almost an entire day on a compression table.
"I could barely walk on Thursday, but there was no way I wasn't going to fight," he said afterwards.
"I've been off nine months and I wasn't gonna let another chance slip by. No excuses, but my timing was off a bit.I know I can do better. There was some rust, but I hit the opening when I saw it, and that's what counts."
n Edmonton super featherweight Omar (The Mexicutioner) Valdez moved to 6-2-3 with a sensational second-round annihilation of Oklahoma City's Mike Dobbs (11-20-1).
After dumping his taller foe to the canvas with an 11-punch flurry late in the opening round, Valdez came out for the second with both guns blazing. A straight right to the head put Dobbs down again at the 10-second mark, and a liver shot ended it at 1:17.
"It didn't feel like I'd been away for nine months, but I wasn't all that warm when the bell rang so I wanted to start fast," said Valdez.
"When I started landing those flurries it was tough not to get too anxious, but I held back and just took pot shots. When I landed that liver shot, I knew he wouldn't get up."
n In a highly entertaining four-round lightweight bout, Edmonton's C.J. Borden made an impressive pro debut by knocking out David McQuaker (1-2) of Lethbridge at 1:34 of Round 2.
Borden, a southpaw with power, dropped McQuaker 90 seconds into the opening round and was the aggressor all the way.