Orlando Cruz won his second fight since announcing that he was gay and is now on the brink of a world title shot.
‘The Phenomenon’ enjoyed a six-round TKO over Aaron Martinez in Florida to move to a record of 20-2-1 (10 knockouts).
The lightweight fighter is now the top ranked contender for Mikey Garcia's WBO belt although Juan Manuel Lopez is expected to be Garcia's next challenger.
"I'm ready for the championship," Cruz said.
"My mind is now in challenging for the WBO belt. I'm thirsty for glory now.
"I think this is the result of hard work in which every member of my team contributed, Now we know that what's coming up is harder and we need to work and correct (things)."
The Puerto Rican fighter wore the colours of the Puerto Rican flag on the side of his shorts and the rainbow colours of gay pride on the back.