KEY POINTS:
Monty Betham won his third fight, stopping Northland's Aaron Bartlett in the first round at Sky City in Auckland.
Bartlett, 35, was a late replacement for Australian Jamie Guy who withdrew last week from a scheduled cruiserweight six-rounder.
Betham, a former rugby league player, decked Bartlett twice for mandatory eight counts before the referee stopped the contest two minutes 58 seconds into the first round.
By then Bartlett was bleeding from the nose and bruised from a barrage of punches to the face and head.
Betham has now won all three of his fights by knockouts in his fledgling career and tonight's fight was his first in New Zealand.
- NZPA
