SKOWHEGAN — Brandon “The Cannon” Berry’s return to the ring after a nine-month hiatus couldn’t have gone much better — or faster.

Berry, a West Forks native, defeated Engleberto Valenzuela, of Mexico, by technical knockout in the second round of their junior welterweight bout at the Skowhegan Rec Center Saturday night.

“I felt great,” he said. “I was really expecting a tough fight from Engleberto, but I noticed in the first round I hit him with a little right hook to the body. I saw him wince just a little bit, and an experienced fighter like him wouldn’t do that.”

It was Berry’s first fight since his first professional loss to Freddy Sanchez in Portland on Nov. 15. In that fight, Berry tore the labrum in his left shoulder, which required surgery two months later. He went 175 days without putting on a pair of boxing gloves.

Berry (9-1) showed how eager he was to get back into the ring with one of the strongest starts he has experienced as a pro. He set the tone and got the crowd of 750 supporters on their feet with his jab, then — going against his usual style — went after Rodriguez (9-6) inside.

“I don’t know if it was a combination of my speed or maybe just him not adapting,” Berry said. “He came from a long ways away, so I’m not taking nothing away from him.”

The hook to the body gave Berry the idea he could return there when he chose.

“I feel like I hurt him. I played it off good and I backed up, started going upstairs again and try to make him realize that maybe I didn’t see it,” Berry said. But Berry went back to the body quickly in the second round, then took advantage of the openings that followed with jabs and uppercuts to the head.

Referee Mike Bryant stopped the fight at 2:20 of the second round, stepping in after Berry pounded away at his opponent’s mid-section, at one point sending Valenzuela to one knee with what Berry said was a liver punch but Valenzuela argued was a shot at the kidneys.

“It was right on,” Berry said. “You see that a lot in boxing where somebody gets hurt they want to try to get a way out of it. But they were legal punches.”

Berry said he was most pleased with the speed and precision of his punches.

“It felt really good, those small gloves,” he said. “I’ve been working on speed drills in the gym and with the pads. I’m happy with it. I can’t wait to see the tape, but I feel like I was fast and accurate.”

In the other “co-main event,” Jason Quirk, a Portland firefighter, improved to 4-0 with a split decision over Mike Rodriguez, of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

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Twitter: @RAWmaterial33