Estrada (left) lands a sweat-flying left hook on Marquez (right)

Juan Francisco Estrada did his part in keeping alive a lucrative rematch with division rival Roman Gonzalez by pummeling former titlist Hernan “Tyson” Marquez to a 10^th round TKO victory on Saturday.

Estrada (33-2, 24KO) scored seven knockdowns in what became a one-sided, albeit entertaining bout. Marquez (39-6-1, 28KO), a southpaw, started the fight well by countering Estrada whenever the champion initiated offense. Estrada used his jab to gauge distance and set-up his hooks to the body which would pay off in the later rounds.

The fight started to shift in Estrada’s favor in the fourth round as he found his range and began countering Marquez. Frustrated, Marquez’s attacks became more sloppy and predictable and Estrada made him miss with his right hooks and straight lefts. Estrada took complete control in the fifth by backing Marquez against the ropes and unloading with combinations to the head and body. Marquez fought back, but it looked like he was about to get knocked down until a break in the action by the referee stopped Estrada’s momentum. It looked like the referee wanted to warn Estrada for low-blows.

The knockdowns began in the sixth, as a right hook to the body froze Marquez in his place and forced him to take a knee. He beat the count and tried to fight back, but a barrage of punches from Estrada as Marquez was trapped against the ropes forced the challenger to the canvas for the second knockdown.

Having survived the sixth, Marquez came out of the seventh round looking to make a comeback. However, Estrada stuck to his gameplan and continued to pound Marquez’s body. A left hook to the body put Marquez down for the third time midway through the round. The same left hook dropped Marquez for the fourth time. Marquez’s persistence momentarily payed off at the end of the round as a counter-left backed Estrada off.

Both fighters exchanged furious blows in the eighth as Marquez tried to battle back and Estrada was willing to go to the trenches to get the knockout. The ninth round featured the fifth knockdown from another left hook by Estrada.

Marquez fought bravely throughout the entire fight, never giving up. But, the end finally came in the tenth round when a left hook to the head dropped him to his back. Marquez rose on unsteady legs and Estrada jumped on him, throwing punches and eventually finishing his opponent off with a straight right hand.

This was Estrada’s seventh win a row since losing a unanimous decision to Gonzalez in 2012 at the Light Flyweight division. There have been calls for a rematch between the two champions and it could very well happen as long as Gonzalez wins his scheduled bout with former titlist Brian Viloria on Oct. 17. Viloria lost his Flyweight belts to Estrada in 2013, so if Viloria were to upset Gonzalez another lucrative rematch could potentially happen for Estrada.

Marquez has now gone 5-4-1 in his last 10 bouts with all his losses coming by knockout. Although most of his fights have been exciting, action-packed affairs, they seem to have taken their toll on the 27-year-old and his time as a top contender looks to be on borrowed time.