PITTSBURGH -- Paul "The Pittsburgh Kid" Spadafora returned to the boxing ring Wednesday before a sellout crowd of 2,500 fans at the Amphitheatre at Station Square -- more than a year since his last fight.

Spadafora (42-0-1) scored a technical knockout over Ivan Bustos (25-13-3) after legal issues had limited the McKees Rocks native to only three fights in three years.

Paul Spadafora (right) vs. Ivan Bustos at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh.

WTAE Channel 4 Action Sports anchor Guy Junker said if the 33-year-old Spadafora had any ring rust, it wasn't apparent with a fairly easy win over the Argentinean.

Spadafora landed early shots to Bustos' face and head, and by the fifth round, he attacked Bustos' body.

Spadafora, the former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, was particularly strong in the third round.

By the sixth round, Bustos looked soft and well on his way to his 13th career loss. The fight was a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight fight, but Bustos' corner threw in the towel in the middle of the sixth round.

Bustos didn't seem pleased about it but Spadafora was more than happy to return with the TKO win.

This is just the start on the road back for Spadafora, who will need to win some more fights before he gets another shot at some of the elite fighters in his weight class. Wednesday marked the first fight with Hall of Famer Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker as his trainer.

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