Nelson Hysa Blasts Out Thomas Narmo in Second Round

London, England, UK - Nelson Hysa delivered the statement performance he needed on Saturday night, stopping previously unbeaten Thomas Narmo in the second round at The O2 Arena in London.

The Albanian heavyweight dropped Narmo with a huge right hand in Round 2 before the contest was waved off, improving his record to 25-0 (23 KOs).

Narmo, who entered the fight with a perfect 14-0 record and 14 knockouts, falls to 14-1 (14 KOs).

It was an emphatic conclusion to a potentially dangerous heavyweight matchup on the Moses Itauma vs. Filip Hrgovic undercard.

Hysa established his jab during the opening round and immediately began looking for opportunities to bring his powerful right hand behind it.

Narmo was willing to engage and fired back with combinations of his own, but Hysa appeared the more composed of the two heavyweights. He continued working behind a stiff jab while repeatedly searching for the right hand over the top.

The warning signs were already there.

In the second round, Hysa found exactly what he had been looking for.

A huge right hand crashed into Narmo and sent the Norwegian heavyweight to the canvas.

Narmo managed to regain his feet, but his legs were badly compromised. With Narmo clearly unable to properly defend himself, the contest was stopped.

The official result was a second-round TKO victory for Hysa.

It was exactly the type of performance the 32-year-old needed at this stage of his career.

Hysa entered London unbeaten and highly ranked by several sanctioning organizations, but still searching for the victory that could propel him toward a major heavyweight opportunity.

Narmo represented an intriguing test. The 31-year-old Norwegian was also unbeaten and had stopped all 14 of his professional opponents, giving the matchup an element of danger despite his limited experience against high-level opposition.

Hysa eliminated that danger quickly.

After controlling the opening round, he demonstrated the heavyweight power that has produced 23 stoppages in his 25 professional victories.

The level of opposition will increase considerably if Hysa is to move toward the upper reaches of the division, but there was little more he could have done on Saturday night.

Hysa came to London needing an impressive victory.

He got one.