By Francisco Salazar

Andrew Hernandez seemed like he would have been content to just fight 10 rounds and receive his purse.

After all, he was facing a top five middleweight contender in Arif Magomedov. Then again, that is why they fight and Hernandez did more than what was expected.

Hernandez outboxed and eventually dropped Magomedov in the final round to earn a clear-cut 10 round unanimous decision Saturday night at the Downtown Las Vegas (Nev.) Events Center.

With the win, Hernandez improves to 12-4-1, 3 KOs, while Magomedov falls to 17-1, 10 KOs.

Hernandez, who resides in Phoenix, Ariz., likely pulled off the upset of the year thus far considering he entered the fight against Magomedov having lost three of his previous five fights.

Magomedov had not fought since December 12, when he knocked out Jonathan Tavira in the seventh round. He entered the fight ranked number two by the WBC, number five by the WBA, and number three by the WBO.

From the opening round, Hernandez, who reportedly was preparing to fight a cruiserweight bout four weeks ago, did his best to fight from the outside, allowing Magomedov to work from the center of the ring. Hernandez began to control the action in the third round, effectively keeping Magomedov at the end of his jab and scoring with right hands to the head.

Magomedov attempted to close the distance in the middle rounds, finding some success when he was able to get within punching range. But Hernandez swung momentum his way, effectively scoring from the outside.

Hernandez, who reportedly has a full-time landscaping job, stunned Magomedov twice during the seventh round, each time landing overhand right hands to the head. Hernandez solidified his win with about a minute left in the final round, hurting and dropping Magomedov with a left-right combination to the head. Magomedov was able to beat the count and was able to finish the round.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Hernandez, 100-89, 100-89, and 98-91. Boxingscene.com scored the bout 97-92 in favor of Hernandez.

"This fight changes everything for me," Hernandez said after the fight. "He's very good and deserves all of the accolades he's received, but I now have my head on straight and I'm focused. My jab was very important tonight. He's very strong, but I wanted to fight him (on the) inside because I knew he couldn't take it from me. "

"I was very prepared. I think I may have broken my ankle in the fourth round but I kept going. I wanted to finish him, get the knockout, but he's a very tough fighter. He has heart and showed why he has all of those accolades."

Vera stops Ruelas
In a battle of southpaw junior middleweights, John Vera stopped Joey Ruelas in the sixth round of an eight round bout.

Both fighters had their moments during the fight. Vera did well initiating exchanges while Ruelas attempted to counter with left hands to the head.

The action continued until the sixth round when Vera stunned Ruelas with a right hooks to the head. Vera followed up with two left hands, prompting referee Jay Nady to step in and stop the fight at 1:45. Ruelas protested the stoppage, believing he was able to continue.

Vera retains his regional title belt and improves to 14-0, 9 KOs, while Ruelas drops to 10-2-1, 4 KOs.

Haney remains unbeaten
In the opening bout of the 'Knockout Night at the D' broadcast on CBS Sports Network, former amateur standout and lightweight Devin Haney stopped Jairo Vargas Fernandez in the fourth round.

Haney, who is currently a high school junior, was the busier fighter, outboxing Vargas Fernandez throughout most of the fight. Haney dropped Fernandez with a left-right combination during the fourth round, prompting referee Jay Nady to wave the fight over at 1:34.

Haney goes to 6-0, 4 KOs, while Vargas Fernandez falls to 4-1, 3 KO.s

In a non-televised bout, junior featherweight Juan Antonio Lopez (11-1, 4 KOs) scored an emphatic second round knockout over Jerren Cochran (11-1-1, 4 KOs). A right dropped Cochran to the canvas, who remained facedown on the canvas for several moments before eventually getting up on his power. Lopez scored two knockdowns in the opening round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing