Ryan Garner showed another glimpse of his boxing potential as he produced a third round knockout in only his second professional fight.

The 18-year-old from Southampton stopped Aleksandrs Birkenbergs in Harrow with a fierce right hand ending the contest.

Garner had been in control from the start, though wavered a little in the second round as he tried to blast through his opponent.

Overall, Garner’s coach, Wayne Batten, was pleased with the display.

He said: “I was happy with the result and the performance.

“Ryan got a little bit careless and a little bit sloppy in the second round as he got a bit overeager but we told him to settle back and take his time in the third round and he was clinical with the finish.

“It’s early days for him. It’s only his second fight. From my point of view I have seen an improvement from his last fight so I’m really pleased with that and I hope he will keep on learning and improving and growing.

“What I really like as well is that I have seen a change in his mentality and himself as a person. He seems to have matured and grown up, which was obviously not guaranteed with him only being 18.

“If he lives the life and keeps on developing he has the world at his feet.”

After two fights in the first four months of his pro career under promoter Frank Warren, Garner is hoping for another outing before the end of the year.

“We want him to be active,” said Batten. “He has a great amateur pedigree and so if we can keep him fighting regularly and learning, with his age, he can gain a lot of experience while still having youth on his side.”