By Jake Donovan

Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr.  was given a chance to regain the 115 lb. belt he lost at the scales earlier this year. All he had to do was beat a career bridesmaid at home. Zolani Tete had other ideas, traveling all the way from South Africa to score the biggest win of his career with a 10th round stoppage Saturday evening in Mexicali, Mexico.

Both fighters hit the canvas, and Tete was well on his way to being disqualified before catching a fatigued Sanchez at the right time. A straight left hand coming at the tail end of a combination put the former titlist down on the canvas late in the 10th round, prompting referee Gary Ritter to halt the contest.

Tete, who came up short in a Sept. '10 title bid as well as two subsequent eliminators, is now right back in the mix. The win advances his record to 18-3 (16KO), and puts him in line for the winner of the upcoming 115 lb. title unification bout between Daiki Kameda and Liborio Solis, which takes place Tuesday in Japan.

It's back to the drawing board for Sanchez Jr. The rangy 22-year old southpaw sees a 10-fight win streak come to a screeching halt as he falls to 17-2-1 (9KO), in a bout in which he was up on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

The bout aired live on Azteca 7 in Mexico.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox