LAS VEGAS -- Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski didn't let the NFL lockout stop him from making a nice payday -- and delivering some hard hits.
Fighting for the second time as a pro, Zbikowski barely broke a sweat Saturday night in stopping Richard Bryant at 1:45 of the first round of a scheduled four-round fight on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga 154-pound title fight.
Zbikowski, who last fought while still attending Notre Dame, earned $50,000. He dropped Bryant with a left hook to the body and referee Russell Mora waved the fight to a close after Bryant got up at the count of seven.
"I was looking to get a little more work but you take a win any way you can get it," Zbikowski said. "I know I hurt him with the hook, you could feel the air come out."
Zbikowski, who weighed 193 pounds to 225 for his opponent, plans to fight next on March 26 in Atlantic City, N.J.
"I wanted to get the ring rust off in this fight," he said. "Right now this isn't a second career for me. It's a first career."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
