Waikato boxer Floyd Masson is celebrating a massive stoppage win following a New Zealander versus New Zealander battle in Australia.

The Te Awamutu-born boxer has returned in a massive battle on Saturday night at the Mansfield Tavern in Queensland, Australia, winning by stoppage against Auckland's Joshua Francis.

"It's been 11 months since we saw former IBO World Crusierweight champion Floyd Masson battle in a professional boxing ring, and he returned with an epic showdown against another Aucklander, former New Zealand champion Joshua Francis," says Benjamin Watt.

Floyd has been away healing from injuries, surgically repairing his arm, and getting himself back into fighting shape.

"This was a mouth-watering epic fight that lived up to its name. These two warriors battled it out in a scheduled eight-round fight; however, the fight did not last the full eight rounds, as it was stopped in the fourth round."

Benjamin says the "large bulls locked horns" as they battled it out.

"However, by round four, Masson was landing the harder, heavier, and cleaner shots. Francis was returning, but Masson's punches were overwhelmingly landing cleaner, so the referee needed to decide to step in and end the fight with Masson getting his hand raised, winning by fourth-round TKO stoppage."

With this win, Floyd could reenter the top 15 in the IBF world rankings; however, Floyd is already ranked 28th in the WBC rankings and will see an increase, possibly in the top 20.

What's next for Floyd Masson?

He has now regained his momentum and will be on the upward climb again. There are so many mouthwatering fights to be made across New Zealand and Australia, but it is also time to be smart to make sure the next move gets him back into the top 15 across all four sanctioning bodies.

Some fights could include Luke Modini, who has been an unstoppable force in Australia. Since Luke and Floyd are under the same promotion, it is very possible to make it happen. The former interim World title contender Bilal Akkawy and Jason Whateley are two particularly high-profile Australian fights that could be fight-of-the-year potential opponents for Floyd.

The John Parker vs. Alivereti Kauyaca fight will be held on September 7 in Hamilton for the WBA Oceania title.

The winner would be an excellent opponent for Floyd Masson, and it could break him into the WBA rankings.

The WBC Australasian Champion Sam Abdulrahim would be another good fight for Masson to help him climb the WBC rankings.

Finally, the fight New Zealand really wants to see is an epic brawl between Floyd Masson and Duco Boxing and Joseph Parker promotions IBF Intercontinental champion David Nyika. This would be an epic fight, especially since both boxers are from the Waikato, and it is something everyone wants to see.

Benjamin Watt.