After a troubled year, all of it outside the ring, Irish Olympic medallist John Joe Nevin finally got back to work in the ring in the US, stopping his opponent Victor Capaceta inside the distance.

Still unbeaten but in only his fourth professional fight, the London 2012 bantamweight won by TKO at the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball ground in Coney Island.

Nevin dominated the opening rounds of the scheduled four round bout and quickly tagged Capaceta at the end of the third round.

The Mexican, who had not fought since last year, came into the bout with a pretty dismal record of winning just four of his fourteen fights - he drew three and lost the other seven.

But he had never been stopped and was clearly hurt in the third as he remained on his stool and didn’t come out for the start of the fourth, complaining that a foul punch to the back of the head had been landed.

The 26-year-old Nevin, who had been inactive after a double leg break and had not fought since stopping rookie English fighter Jack Heath 88 seconds into their scheduled six round bout in Dublin's 3Arena last November, dismissed the Mexican's claims.

“It was a great shot, even the ref said it. Absolutely delighted to be back and to get the win under my belt,” said the Irishman.

Philadelphia’s Tom Moran, who is co-managing Nevin with Cameron Dunkin, said the Coney Island outing as a “back to business fight”.

Nevin has another few bouts lined up in the USA before Christmas. “It’s catch up time,” he added.