Christopher Guerrero received the seal of approval from the last fighter to fully dominate the welterweight division.
The unbeaten prospect was greeted with a handshake and a smile from four-division titlist Terence “Bud” Crawford after his first career 10-round affair. The amicable exchange preceded Guerrero’s official unanimous decision win over Oliver Quintana in their ESPN+ chief-support bout Thursday evening at the Montreal Casino in Montreal.
Scores were 99-88, 98-89 and 98-89 for Guerrero, a 23-year-old Mexican based in Montreal.
He was fittingly pushed by his countryman in Quintana over the back half of the fight, but he had already built up a sizable lead by that point.
Mexico’s Quintana, 28, was game but largely outgunned through the first five rounds. The end appeared near when Guerrero sent his visiting foe to the canvas late in the fifth. An accumulation of punches forced the first of two knockdowns on the night, though Quintana was able to beat the count and survive the final 35 seconds of the round.
Momentum briefly shifted in the closing seconds of the sixth. Guerrero consistently landed his right hand but saw his chin tested late in the frame. Quintana carried over that success into the seventh round but was stalled when he was called for a second knockdown late in the frame. The strange sequence saw Quintana, 22-4 (16 KOs), fall to the canvas after he landed a right hand to the body, only to take an eight-count.
Guerrero, 15-0 (8 KOs), was steady over the final three rounds to seal perhaps his best win to date. It marked just the second time he has fought beyond the fifth round, while his three-fight knockout streak was ended by the distance affair.
Guerrero-Quintana served as the chief support to the Dzimitry Asanau-Francesco Patera lightweight bout.
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