By Francisco Salazar

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Danny Garcia walked out of the ring victorious following his unanimous decision victory over Robert Guerrero before 12,052 at Staples Center.

That depends on who you ask and what you can conclude from watching 12 rounds between Garcia and Guerrero, whom many gave little or no chance to win.

Guerrero had not fought since June 6, when he won a highly-debated and controversial 10 round decision over Aron Martinez. Some even thought Guerrero was shot and was likely to be stopped by Garcia, who was coming off a technical knockout win over Paul Malignaggi on August 1.

Instead, Guerrero stuck an effective game-plan, one that allowed him to consistently land left hands to the head of Garcia early on in the fight. A noticeable welt developed below Garcia's right eye from the number of punches Guerrero connected.

By the sixth round, it looked as though Garcia had figured out Guerrero. Or maybe Guerrero slowed down considerably, not able to keep his hands up while Garcia landed repeatedly with right crosses to the head.

While these punches seemed to get the better over the likes of Rod Salka and Paul Malignaggi in recent fights, Guerrero hung in there. Every time Garcia landed a hard right, Guerrero looked straight at Garcia.

Garcia was in the driver's seat until the 12th round, when Garcia looked as though he tired, allowing Guerrero to rally. Guerrero did score with a number of punches in the round, but was not able to hurt Garcia.

All three judges scored the bout 116-112 in favor of Garcia. BoxingScene.com scored the bout 115-113 for Garcia.

Guerrero saved his career momentarily with his performance. Who knows if he will have another run at a world title belt in him as he heads into the twilight of his career, but with the right matchmaking, Guerrero could fight again in a high-profile fight.

"The doubters don't bother me," said Guerrero after the fight. "I showed how strong I am and what I could do. That's why I come out and fight the way I do."

"It's all for the fans. That's why they bring me back. They love it and they enjoy it. They were entertained tonight. They thought I won the fight, but that's the way the ball went."

While he resides in the Northern California city of Gilroy, Guerrero did have the crowd support inside Staples Center.

The opposite could be said for Garcia, who had a cascade of boos rain down on him before the fight and after the decision was announced.

Some or all of that could be due to the opponents he has faced (Salka and Malignaggi) or the fighters he has refused to fight (then-mandatory challenger Viktor Postol).

It will be interesting to see if Garcia indeed fulfills what the WBC orders: a world title defense against WBC mandatory challenger against Amir Khan.

Garcia seems to have few options outside of a Khan fight. In his performance against Guerrero, Garcia proved he was better than Guerrero, but the jury is still out whether he is an elite fighter or a very good welterweight with a world title belt.

"I am now a two-division world champion," said Garcia after the fight. "I'm excited. Guerrero is tough. No one has ever stopped him. He came to fight, he was in shape. I'm taking nothing away from him.

"I'm so happy. I am glad it went the way it went. I just want to take some time off, let my body heal and take one day at a time."

Garcia improves to 32-0, 18 KOs, while Guerrero drops to 33-4-1, 18 KOs.

Vasquez stops Martinez

Welterweight contender Sammy Vasquez moved a step closer towards an opportunity for a world title shot, stopping Aron Martinez after the end of the sixth round.

The WBC sanctioned this bout as a semi-final elimination bout.

The bout was highly-anticipated between two fighters who move forward and throw a lot of punches, but it was Vasquez who was in control from the opening bell.

Vasquez was on the offensive, walking Martinez down against the ropes and landing at will. Martinez began to throw his hands more in the third round, but his punches did not have the same impact as Vasquez's.

Martinez's punch output dropped as the bout progressed into the middle rounds. Vasquez was content to land repeatedly from the outside as Martinez did not respond with much consistency.

After the end of the sixth round, Martinez remained on his stool, citing an injury to his left elbow.

"I couldn't throw my jab," said Martinez after the fight. "I was trying my best, but I hurt my elbow in the third round."

Vasquez improves to 21-0, 15 KOs, while Martinez drops to 20-5-1, 4 KOs.

Breazeale wins on Mansour injury

Heavyweight Dominic Breazeale won by technical knockout after the fifth round after Amir Mansour remained on his stool due to an injured jaw.

The outcome surprised fight fans in attendance as Mansour was in control of the action from the opening bell. Despite a height disadvantage, the southpaw Mansour was able to connect consistently, especially with overhand lefts to the head.

Mansour seemed to stun Breazeale twice in the second round, but hit pay-dirt early in the third round by dropping Breazeale with a right hook to the head. Mansour attempted to follow up, but was unable to land anything flush on the chin of Breazeale.

The pace of the fight slowed as both fighters looked winded from the action in the previous round. Mansour came on in the fifth round, unloading a series of left hands, but Breazeale caught Mansour flush to the chin on a few occasions.

With Mansour well ahead on the cards after the fifth round, the Philadelphia fighter did not answer the bell to start the sixth round, citing an injury to his jaw.

"I didn't know what happened," said Breazeale after the fight. "Looks like I have some punching power after all."

Breazeale goes to 17-0, 15 KOs, while Mansour drops to 22-2-1, 16 KOs.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.