By Francisco Salazar

Mohammed Rabii was finally able to make his pro debut Saturday night, stopping Laszlo Kovacs II in the opening round at the Sportovni Hala Kralovka in Prague, in the Czech Republic.

Rabii, who represented Morocco at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, dropped Kovacs with a sweeping right cross to the head. Kovacs struggled to his feet, but was in no condition to continue. The fight was stopped at 2:35.

"Every time I connected on Kovacs, I could see that it was affecting him.  I knew it was all over because I hit him with a big punch that me and my coach, Donald Leary, had worked on in training camp.  I cannot wait for my next fight in April."

Kovacs, a veteran southpaw from Hungary, falls to 11-7, 5 KOs.

Rabii, who is managed by Gary Hyde, was scheduled to make his pro debut in his hometown of Casablanca, Morocco on February 18. A source told BoxingScene.com recently the entire card was cancelled that night due to ‘high-ranking’ people blocking the show, preventing Rabii from making his debut.

Rabbii weighed 152.2 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in, but it is likely he will compete in the welterweight division.

"I had to reschedule his pro debut for March 11th against the same opponent, Kovacs," said Hyde.  "Kovacs fights between 154 and 168 pounds, which is much heavier than the 147-pound welterweight division in which Rabii fights.  

"Mohammad learned during his warm-up for the fight that his wife was in labor and close to delivering his first child.  He had other things to take care of before concentrating on his family affairs, wasting no time as he annihilated Kovacs until dropping his Hungarian opponent hard near the end of the opening round.  Czech spectators gasped as Rabii's thunderous punches connected.  Kovacs somehow got to his feet to beat the count but he was visibly shaken and the referee wisely stopped the fight. Rabii had no time to celebrate, though, as he rushed to contact his family back in Morocco, happily learning his wife had given birth to the couple's baby boy at 7 a.m. Sunday morning."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing