ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- It took Danny Romero a mere 56 seconds to move a step closer for a shot at his third world title.

That's all the time Romero needed to put away Rodolfo Blanco in the first round at The Pit Saturday night.

Romero, 37-3-1, scored his quick win with a blistering left hook body shot that sent Blanco, 28-15-1, to the canvas and out for the count.

Romero's decisive win could get him a fight with Nestor Garza, 35-1, of Mexico City for Garza's WBA super bantamweight belt. The fight was on the same card as Johnny Tapia's victory over Jorge Eliecer Julio.

"I feel extremely content for the first time in a long time," Romero said. "I'm gonna take Garza's title."

An hour before his fight Romero, sat in his dressing room, outfitted in camouflage fatigues, his head bobbing to the heavy metal rock leaking from the earphones of his Walkman.

"I'm feeling good, and I'm ready to go," Romero said. "I'm gonna run him over like a Mack truck."

When Romero trotted out to the ring to meet his opponent, the crowd of approximately 12,000 fans thundered with cheers for their hometown hero.

"When I heard the crowd call my name, it made me feel so good," Romero said. "I'm extremely confident that 2000 is going to be my year."

Romero, who scored his 13th career first round knockout and 32nd overall, was clearly going for the quick finish the moment the opening bell rang.

After flicking a couple of quick jabs, Romero tried to nail Blanco with a haymaker right hook that missed its mark.

"But I made him stick up his hands," Romero said. "But fighters forget that I can punch with both hands, and I caught him with my extended left."

Blanco, 33, of San Onofre, Colombia, and speaking through an interpreter, praised Romero.

"He's a good fighter, and he hits hard," he said.

Blanco, who won the IBF flyweight title in June 1992 and the North American Boxing Federation's 115-pound belt in August 1997, said that he was not fully prepared for Saturday's fight.

"I was only 30 to 40 percent ready," he said.

Romero said that despite his quick win, Blanco was a good boxer.

"He had a snapping good jab," Romero said. "He hit me a couple time in the head, but he didn't get to do it again."

Blanco said that Romero's left hook took him by surprise.

"I just got caught with a good shot to the liver, got the wind knocked out of me and I couldn't recover," he said. "This is very disappointing."