LAS VEGAS – Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela stared into the heat of an impassioned fellow Mexican boxer, and turned inward to the championship skills he developed to answer the attack.

Overcoming the unrestrained effort by Diego Torres that left Valenzuela bloodied by the fourth round, the former 140lbs champion showed his polish by winning on three 99-91 scorecards.

“He came out strong, I tasted the fire and smelled blood,” Valenzuela said following a victory in his Zuffa Boxing debut at the Apex.

Returning from almost a one-year layoff, Valenzuela, 15-3, made it a point to emphasize the depth of his boxing acumen, even as Torres, 22-2, desperately sought to score a 20th career knockout late in the bout.

Torres displayed immediate formidable power in both hands against Valenzuela, who was returning from losing his WBA 140lbs belt to champion Gary Antuanne Russell by wide scoring margins.

The southpaw Valenzuela worked to jab and set up his left hand in the second, but Torres still found him with some neck-snapping punches.

Torres’ lone loss was to IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla.

Torres heard his supporters, including Hall of Famer countryman and former trainer Marco Antonio Barrera, urge him to increase the pressure and avoid a straight-up boxing match.

The strategy led to Torres delivering a fourth-round cut at the side of Valenzuela’s right eye thanks to a left hand.

The trauma didn’t stop Valenzuela from executing a superior boxing display in the fifth, however, with him landing a crisp three-punch combination and effective lefts that revealed his champion’s pedigree.

A big right by Torres wobbled Valenzuela in the sixth, but the pursuit also had some reckless turns, and it was during those sequences when Valenzuela would produce more scoring blows.

Valenzuela continued leaning into the basics of his movement and footwork that allowed him to evade the biggest punches while shifting into position to land.

Flexing those skills into the eighth, Valenzuela ducked, backstepped and delivered a left in a scene that could only frustrate Torres. When Valenzuela then peppered Torres with a combination, it proved the point.

Defusing Torres’ attack by shuffling back and out-boxing him in response accentuated Valenzuela’s talent and generated cheers of “Rayo!” to close the 10th.

“I’m a fighter. These people pay hard-earned money,” Valenzuela said about pushing himself to the conclusion with a comfortable lead.