Pascal, of Laval, Que., sent Lucas Green Arias of Costa Rica to the floor at the end of the sixth round to win the WBC Latino super-middleweight belt, a minor title.

Arias (11-2) got up and walked to his stool in his corner, but was unable to get up for the seventh. He was given oxygen in the ring and then was taken to hospital. There was no immediate word on his condition, but he was conscious and able to talk.

``It's nice to win by KO, but when a guy is hurt, it's not that much fun,'' said Pascal (14-0).

Arias had failed to make the 168-pound limit at the weight-in on Friday after spending time in a sauna to burn off pounds, but it was unknown if that contributed to his post-fight troubles.

Because he didn't make weight, he would have been ineligible to win the title and also forfeited part of his purse.

Arias gave the hard-hitting Pascal his toughest fight to date, more than once backing him into the ropes, but he also took several power punches from the former Canadian Olympian.

Late in a sixth round that Arias looked to be winning, Pascal caught him in a corner and rained blows to his head, finally sending him to the floor with one second left in the round.

``He hit really hard to the body and the head,'' Pascal said. ``He was the biggest puncher I've faced and my toughest test so far.

``Now everyone can see I have a (strong) chin.''

The co-feature saw Sebastien Demers (18-0) of St-Hyacinthe, Que., retain the Canadian super-welterweight title in a lively but one-sided unanimous 10-round decision over Stephane Desormiers (15-2) of Terrebonne, Que.

A large contingent of Desormiers supporters among the sellout crowd of about 600 at the Montreal Casino maintained a deafening noise level throughout the bout.

The two had feuded in the media all week and even exchanged blows briefly at Friday's weigh-in, but while Desormiers showed remarkable heart and energy, he was no match for Demers' stiff left jab and superior skill.

The two hugged in the ring after the fight and the feud appeared to be settled.

``I tried to keep coming back, but he was better than me,'' said Desormiers, who had to take a knee in the first and third rounds and was badly cut on the left eye in the sixth.

``I knew I had to keep my head and concentrate on boxing and that's what I did,'' Demers said. ``It was definitely one of my best fights.

``He has a much better chin than I thought.''

Demers will next fight on Nov. 25 in Sherbrooke, Que., for the NABA title, which will be vacated by Joachim Alcine of Montreal, who is in line for a world title bout.

Patrice (Granite) L'Heureux (20-2-1) of Shawinigan, Que., stopped American Travis Fulton (15-16) in the third round. It was a tune-up for L'Heureux's Nov. 18 rematch with David Cadieux of Trois-Rivieres, Que., who took the Canadian heavyweight title from him in May.

The fight card marked the pro debut of Adonis Stevenson of Laval, Que., but it lasted only 22 seconds before the 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist knocked out Mike Funk (0-1) of Cincinnati.

It looked like a dive, but the southpaw Stevenson, a devastating puncher, said he caught him flush on the temple with a short but powerful right.

Sebastien Hamel (6-5-1) of Longueuil, Que., knocked down Ahmed Cheikho (2-1-2) of Montreal and went on to a six-round unanimous decision in a super-lightweight bout.

Canadian featherweight champion Olivier Lontchi (9-0-1) of Montreal won a six-round unanimous decision over Giovanni Caro (6-3-2) of Mexico.

In two welterweight bouts, Phil Lo Greco (5-0) of Montreal stopped American Cornell Shinholster (13-10-1) in the third round and Manolis Plaitis (5-0) of Montreal took a six-round unanimous decision over Axel Rodrigo Solis (2-3-2) of Mexico.