By Jake Donovan

Ronny Rios turned in a career-best performance, dominating the second half of his 10-round featherweight bout with Jayson Velez to take a well-earned unanimous decision.

Scores were 95-94, 96-93 and 97-92 in favor of Rios, in a bout that kicked off the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Velez came in as an undefeated contender, but quickly ran out of steam as Rios' early body work proved effective. The California-based featherweight also flirted with disqualification, however, as he was frequently warned and eventually docked one point in round five for low blows. 

It actually helped Rios, who targeted Velez' chest and chin the rest of the way. The adjustment turned a close fight into a rout over the second half of the contest, as Velez boasted neither the mobility to make Rios miss or the power to make him pay. 

Rios improves to 25-1 (10KOs), picking up his second straight win following a shocking knockout loss to Robinson Castellanos last October. Oddly enough, he picks up the WBC "Silver" featherweight title that Castellanos earned in a win over Rocky Juarez earlier this year. 

Velez suffers his first career loss, falling to 23-1-1 (16KOs). The 27-year old boxer from Caguas, Puerto Rico - the same hometown as Miguel Cotto, who faces Saul Alvarez later this evening - fought then-unbeaten featherweight Evgeny Gradovich to a disputed draw last December, followed by a 10-round win over Daniel Ramirez earlier this year. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox