Keith Thurman has dealt Brock Jarvis a reality check and set up a potential blockbuster with Tim Tszyu with a brutal third-round win in Sydney.
Thurman sent Jarvis crashing to the canvas with a savage combination, iced with a massive uppercut midway through the third round on Wednesday night.
The referee swiftly stopped the super-welterweight showdown shortly after when the American floored Jarvis again with a stunning left hook to the side of the head.
Jarvis's painful defeat must have been a nightmare for Jeff Fenech after the Australian boxing legend split with the Sydney slugger last month.
Fenech feared Thurman, a two-time former world champion, would pack too many punches for his long-time charge.
Former NRL star Curtis Scott replaced Fenech in Jarvis's corner and must have felt sick seeing the 27-year-old go down in such brutal fashion.
Victory over Jarvis in his first fight in three years dispelled doubts about the 36-year-old's ability to remain relevant.
Thurman now hopes Tszyu takes care of his fellow American Joey Spencer in Newcastle on April 6 so he can get a crack at Australia's former WBO champ.
"Yeah, I just raised the bar on you, Tszyu," he said.
"This is three years of inactivity. You see what I do.
"You wanna come back, baby. You gotta come back hard, baby. Show them what you got.
"Best of luck to Tim. I'm looking forward to fighting anybody in the world of boxing.
"If that contract (with Tszyu) manifests, you know what Keith Thurman will do. Send the contract. I'll sign it. I'll be happy to take the fight."
The abrupt ending to Wednesday night's fight was in stark contrast to the opening round when Jarvis had Thurman on the ropes and ducking for cover.
The all-action 27-year-old continued to land more punches in the second but Thurman burst to life in the third, with deadly consequences for Jarvis.
In the co-main event, Michael Zerafa scored an emphatic TKO victory over Besir Ay to stay in the picture and pick up the vacant WBO Intercontinental middleweight belt.
The referee stopped the fight little more than a minute into the seventh round after Zerafa dropped the German twice in the space of 20 seconds with a series of big hits to the head.
Saying he was "happy to play the villain" in Australian boxing, Zerafa wasted no time also calling out Tszyu.
"I know Tim is in the building tonight (commentating)," he said.
"That is the biggest fight in Australia and I'm not even going to talk smack."
And Mateo Tapia claimed the vacant IBF Intercontinental middleweight title with a spectacular win over fellow Australian Sergei Vorobev.
In his first fight since being awarded a fortunate draw against Venezuelan Endry Saavedra on the Tim Tszyu-Bakhram Murtazaliev undercard in Florida last October, Tapia's so-called "million-dollar right hand" once again did the damage.
Tapia sent Vorobev crashing to the canvas, lights out, midway through the fifth round with a thunderous blow to the face.
"It feels good to be back," Tapia said after improving his record to 17-1-0 (11KOs).
"That Orlando fight was the biggest test of my life. Not skill wise but what I had to go through before the fight and in the fight too.
"Two head clashes really blew my eye up. So I'm just happy to to be back and stamp my authority."