The 30-year-old Holmes opened the first round by throwing a lot of jabs, while Noriega (11-3, 5 KOs), a 34-year-old from Cuba, concentrated on going to the body. 

Noriega went in search of the kill in the second and third, but Holmes used his jab to keep his opponent at bay. Despite landing some power punches to the face and body of Holmes in the third, Noriega failed to deal with his opponent’s body shots in the final part of the round.

In the fourth, Holmes continued to outbox Noriega, giving the Cuban a lot of problems with his jab. The fifth and sixth rounds saw Holmes maintain his composure with combinations as Noriega continued (fruitlessly) with his KO search.

The technical prowess of Holmes was on display in the seventh as he defended well and landed clean body shots. Noriega attempted a right hook in the eighth, but Holmes countered with his own right hook, which landed on Noriega’s jaw.

Holmes stuck to his exceptional game plan over the final two rounds, focusing on counterpunching. As Noriega struggled to find an antidote to Holmes’ sleek style, he knew only a KO could secure him a win.

But Holmes was equal to the task, keeping Noriega at bay through the final bell. After the fight, Holmes called out some of the big names at 154 pounds to consider giving him a chance.

“It meant everything, man. I wish we could do it again. I'll do better,” Holmes told DAZN.

"I like [Erickson] Lubin, I like [Jermell] Charlo. I want some of the big dogs, man. Come get me.”

In the co-feature, undefeated Joseph Hicks proved too strong for Ronnie Austion in their junior middleweight contest, earning a unanimous decision victory.

Judges scored the eight-round bout 79-73, 78-74, 80-72 in favor of Hicks, who extended his undefeated record to 11-0 (7 KOs).

Earlier on the broadcast undercard, Leon Lawson III (16-1, 9 KOs) scored a fourth-round TKO victory over Luis Alberto Veron (20-9-2, 9 KOs) in a junior middleweight contest.

At super middleweight, Da’Velle Smith (9-0, 7 KOs) stopped Esau Herrera de la Cruz in four rounds of a scheduled six-rounder.

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.