Anyetei Laryea ended British Isaac Ward's short reign as Commonwealth super-bantamweight champion with an impressive win in Durham.
The Ghanaian proved a cut above the champion, who was making his first defence of the belt he claimed with victory over Francis Miyeyusho in January.
By the end of round four Ward's corner decided they'd seen enough, pulling out their man after he had taken some heavy punishment.
It was a disappointing end for the British boxer, who later admitted he was hampered by an arm injury that had restricted his preparations.
Laryea weathered some early pressure in the opening exchanges to take control of the fight, dominating the third round to such an extent that he puts his opponent down on one knee.
The fourth followed a similar pattern as the challenger couldn't fail to find the target, landing some heavy body shots that took their toll on Ward.
A second knockdown saw the Brit - warned earlier by the referee for use of the head - look to his corner in a resigned fashion that suggested he was in serious trouble.
Although he requested to go on, Ward, bleeding heavily from his nose and with a nasty swelling under his right eye, was withdrawn by his trainer before the start of the fifth.
"I've had a few problems but I won't come out with excuses," the beaten champion told Sky Sports.
"I've had problems with my arm before the fight which means I haven't been getting the sparring sessions I should have been getting.
"But the man (Laryea) caught me with some good body shots and just took the wind out of me."
Ward admitted that he was not sure if he would carry on fighting, with the arm injury possibly being serious enough to end his 17-fight career.
"I don't know," he added when asked where the defeat left him.
"I've got a very bad arm which is beyond repair now. I'll sit back and have a think about it and see where we go from here."
