The first round saw Davis (11-0, 8 KOs) deploying his vastly superior hand speed and balance to land punches on Madueno from close range and utilizing a combination of upper-body movement while standing in the pocket and smooth footwork to slide out of the way as Madueno sought to catch up with him.

Madueno (31-3, 28 KOs) refused to accept that he was brought in to lose, determinedly attacking Davis with a swarming offense, but Davis' speed and ring generalship were on another level. For all the Mexican’s determined attack, Davis was able to slip much of the incoming artillery and use his faster hands to punch between his opponent’s punches with much greater effect.

Indeed, Davis’ offense was at its sharpest when Madueno came on to him and gave him opportunities to counter, and he was less effective in the early rounds at taking the initiative. By Round 6, however, as Madueno tired, Davis was proving more effective at breaking him down and starting to beat him up on the inside.

The seventh saw Davis teeing off with furious combinations inside, and although Madueno would not be deterred, he was looking increasingly ragged and desperate, as exemplified by his pushing his head into Davis’ after Round 6 and picking him up as if about to body-slam him early in Round 7. By this stage, the demonstrations of Davis’ skill had to compete with increasingly frequent grappling that raised the possibility of a DQ, not least when Madueno threw a post-bell shot at Davis that actually cuffed the referee instead.

Madueno’s heart and determination was not in question, as he continued to pour forward and walk face-first into the buzzsaw. Round 9, however, saw Madueno visibly tire from his effort, and Davis was able to potshot at will. A fierce right cross was followed swiftly by another pair that spun Madueno’s head around – yet still weren’t enough to knock him off his feet.

Davis kicked off the final round with a three-punch combination that snapped back Madueno’s head, and by the final bell the only question was whether Madueno had won a round.

He won one across the board, as all three judges saw Davis as a 99-91 winner.

Davis’ dominance was reflected in the CompuBox statistics, which recorded him landing 49 percent of his punches, with 194 of 398 finding their mark, compared to 63 of 461 (14 percent) for Madueno.

“He was tougher than I expected,” said Davis afterward. “This was the toughest, most physical pro fight I’ve had. But I had fun in there.”

Asked who he would like next and if he considered himself ready for a title shot, Davis offered simply that “I’m willing to fight anybody. Whoever Top Rank wants to put me in with.”

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcasted about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.