By Jake Donovan

More than 1,500 miles away from the Atlantic City venue that would serve as the main topic of conversation in boxing circles, another Martinez found himself in a far tougher night than expected.

In the end, flyweight contender Raul Martinez was able to overcome facial cuts and a grueling affair in outlasting determined challenger Rodrigo Guerrero to take a split decision in their Fox Sports Espanol-televised main event at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.

Martinez put away rounds on the strength of his superior boxing ability, but the crude Guerrero made the former amateur standout earn every bit of his paycheck, every step of the way.

After four rounds, Martinez was left with a gaping cut underneath his left eye and bore the look of a man who wanted to be anywhere but in the ring, while Guerrero was unmarked and as calm as an assassin.

Given the fight’s progression, all it meant was that both would make terrific poker players.

Martinez never stopped trucking forward, creating more distance on the scorecards with each passing rounds and making his presence felt when pure boxing alone wouldn’t keep Guerrero off of him. A left uppercut in the sixth round was the hardest punch Martinez had landed to that point, but hardly his last shining moment of the night.

If what took place in Atlantic City earlier in the evening produced the best Fighter and Knockout of the Year, the ninth round of this flyweight slugfest certainly warrants mention when collecting year-end feedback for Round of the Year.

For the first time in the fight, Guerrero showed signs of breaking down. A right hand had him on rubber legs, with Martinez moving in for the kill, hoping to become the first to stop the iron-chinned Mexican. Guerrero managed to weather the storm and initiate a savage two-way exchange in center ring, in which both fighter let their hands go.

The sequence perhaps caused Martinez to ease up on his aggression, employing a far more tactical approach in the tenth round. The frame ended with the San Antonio native further bloodied, but literally dancing his way to his corner once the bell sounded, of the belief that he was well on his way to securing a mandatory title shot.

After nearly taking out Guerrero in the 11th round, Martinez eased off the gas for most of the final round. The tactic gave his foe the false perception that he was letting him back into the fight, only for a two-way exchange to once again break out in center ring to end the round and the fight.

The belief at night’s end was that Martinez won a close but clear fight, regardless of how wide or close the cards would read.

As it turned out, he was forced to take one more final deep breath before being able to exhale.

Lisa Giampa’s scorecard of 117-111 for Guerrero suggests she needs to join her husband, Chuck in judging retirement. Fortunately, matching scores of 115-113 for Martinez suggested that at least two other people (including fellow scribe and quality official David Hudson) witnessed what actually took place in the ring.

Martinez continues to put his knockout loss to Nonito Donaire a little further in the rearview mirror as he improves to 28-1 (16KO) with the win, his fourth straight.

For Guerrero, it’s another moment spent on the trail of hard luck. The loss is his second of 2010 as he falls to 14-3-1 (9KO), having dropped a lopsided decision earlier in the year to former lineal super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan.

With the win, Martinez is now the mandatory challenger to the winner of next month’s alphabet title fight between Juan Alberto Rosas and former divisional kingpin Cristian Mijares.

The achievement comes on a night where he never stood a chance to even serve as the most talked about Martinez of the night, never mind its standout fighter. At the very least, he has a second chance at making a lasting impression in the super flyweight division, if not the sport as a whole.

In undercard action, 2008 Russian Olympic middleweight Matvey Korobov remained unbeaten, though didn’t exactly make a statement in outpointing journeyman Derrick Findley (17-4, 11KO) over eight rounds. Scores were 78-74 across the board for Korobov, who advances to 13-0 (8KO), though having now been extended the distance in each of his last three contests.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @JakeNDaBox.