Eric Puente averted disaster to preserve his unbeaten record.

An opening round knockdown served as a wake-up call for the unbeaten San Diego-based prospect, who earned a six-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Jose Antonio Meza (7-6, 2KOs). Judges Tim Cheatham (58-55), Patricia Morse Jarman (57-56) and Chris Migliore (58-55) all ruled in favor of Puente in their ESPN+-aired lightweight battle Saturday evening on ESPN+ from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Meza jumped out to a quick lead, catching Puente with a half-hook, half-uppercut in the first minute of the fight. Puente beat the count of referee Raul Caiz Jr. but spent most of the rest of the round regaining his senses.

Quality between-rounds coaching from renowned trainer and former junior lightweight titlist Robert Garcia enabled Puente to gain the lead and never look back. Meza looked to capitalize from the momentum in the opening round but overcommitted on a left hand which left him open for a counter left hook.

By round three, Puente dictated the pace and took the lead during nearly every exchange. Meza never stopped looking to land a home run shot or even replicate the success he had in the opening round, though that moment would never come as Puente (6-0, 0KOs) boxed his way to victory.

Omar Rosario has taken a strong liking to Las Vegas. The six-time national champion from Caguas, Puerto Rico picked up his second consecutive knockout in the gambling town, the latest coming in a fourth-round stoppage of William Mariano. Rosario scored knockdowns in rounds two and four, the latter prompting a stoppage at 0:47 of round four in their battle of unbeaten junior welterweights.

Rosario picked up his first knockout as a pro in his most recent fight and jumped out to an aggressive start versus Reno’s Mariano. A stiff jab from the former amateur standout and one-time Olympic hopeful caused Mariano’s legs to come from under him, only for referee Russell Mora to dismiss the sequence as a slip.

An official knockdown would come in round two, as Rosario continued on the attack. Mariano jumped out to a strong start, only to get clipped and sent to the canvas. Rosario closed the round with a double left hook, leaving his unbeaten foe on unsteady legs as he struggled to make it back to his corner.

Rosario had Mariano hurt on at least two occasions in round three. An overhand right snapped back the head of Mariano, who once again enjoyed a strong start to a round before feeling the Puerto Rican’s power.

Rosario closed the show in style, dropping and stopping Mariano in the fourth and final round. A left hook snapped back the head of Mariano (3-1, 2KOs), with a follow-up combination sending him to the canvas as Mora raced in to stop the fight.

The stoppage is the second straight for Rosario after going the distance in his first two pro contests. He improves to (4-0, 2KOs) and will continue with his pro career in lieu of representing Puerto Rico in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Rosario was on board to head to Tokyo last summer before the quadrennial games were delayed, and was at one point willing to still pursue that dream even after turning pro last summer.

That dream is no longer in the cards for the 23-year-old, who will instead focus solely on his pro career.

Both bouts served as part of a three-fight ESPN+ livestream preceding an ESPN-televised tripleheader topped by WBA/IBF bantamweight titlist Naoya Inoue (20-0, 17KOs) versus Michael Dasmarinas (30-2-1, 20KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox