Dzinziruk stops Dawson in 10

Junior middleweight titleholder Sergiy Dzinziruk made his U.S. debut a successful one by stopping once-beaten Daniel Dawson in the 10th round of their Showtime-televised main event from Santa Ynez, Calif., on Friday.

Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 knockouts), a 6-foot southpaw from Ukraine, controlled the bout from the first round using primarily his sharp jab and subtle footwork.

Dawson (34-2, 24 KOs), a Southern California-based Australian, simply couldn't get close to Dzinziruk without eating a head-snapping jab.

After nine painfully one-sided rounds referee Jose Cobian did the right thing by stopping the bout at 2:12 of the 10th. It was the sixth defense of the 154-pound belt Dzinziruk won from Daniel Santiago in December of 2005.

Dzinziruk, who hadn't fought since a unanimous decision over Joel Julio in November of 2008, showed no sign of rust. The former amateur standout, who was based and promoted out of Germany for much of the decade, has relocated to Southern California with the ambition of fighting the best 154-pound contenders of the U.S.

In the co-featured bout of the ShoBox, Vernon Paris narrowly won a hard-fought eight-round split-decision over Juan Santiago, who severely tested the undefeated junior welterweight prospect.

Paris (21-0, 13 KOs), who won by scores of 76-75, 76-75, and 74-77, was the faster and harder puncher throughout the welterweight bout but the Detroit native fought in spurts and spent a lot of time along the ropes after gassing out after the first two rounds.

Santiago (12-4-1, 7 KOs), a gutsy pressure fighter from Denver, was the aggressor and outworked Paris from the third round on.