CARSON, Calif. -- Featherweight Oscar Valdez, one of boxing's best prospects, turned in a dominant performance in a lopsided, unanimous-decision victory against Ruben Tamayo in the 1,000th fight televised on HBO, which began covering boxing in 1973, on Saturday night at the StubHub Center.
The 24-year-old Valdez and Tamayo, 26, both of Mexico, put on a hard-hitting fight. But it was Valdez, with better speed and movement, who dominated and wore down Tamayo, a southpaw who was as game as could be.
Two judges had it 98-90 and one had it 99-90 for Valdez. ESPN.com also had it 99-90 for Valdez.
"I was very excited to have my first 10-round fight. It wasn't as tough as I thought it would be, but he was a very good opponent," Valdez said.
Fighting on the Timothy Bradley Jr.-Jessie Vargas undercard at the StubHub Center, Valdez, a 2008 and 2012 Mexican Olympian, became the second heralded Top Rank prospect to make his HBO debut this month, following lightweight Felix Verdejo, a 2012 Puerto Rican Olympian, who also shined in his appearance on June 13.
Valdez (16-0, 14 KOs) dominated the opening round, but Tamayo was credited with a knockdown just before the bell when he landed a glancing straight left hand while stepping on Valdez's foot and he went down. Valdez did not appear hurt and the round ended following the count.
"I didn't think it was a knockdown," Valdez said. "Our feet got tangled up."
After being warned for hitting Valdez with low blows in the sixth round, referee Ray Corona took away a point from him in the seventh round when Tamayo went low yet again.
Valdez came out for the 10th round seemingly hunting for a knockout as he charged at Tamayo (23-6-4, 15 KOs) and connected with a series of big punches to rock him, but Tamayo, with swelling over his right eye in the 10th round, survived to the hear the final bell.
"He's a very fast fighter. He throws a lot of punches. A very busy fighter," said Tamayo, who lost his second fight in a row, having been knocked out in the fifth round challenging Jesus Cuellar for an interim featherweight belt in December.
Kahn Clary scores big knockout
Blue-chip featherweight prospect Toka Kahn Clary (16-0, 10 KOs), of Providence, Rhode Island, beat and battered Colombia's Jonathan Perez (33-12, 27 KOs) with a powerful, two-handed attack before drilling him with a huge left hook to a tick before the bell sounded to end the sixth round. Referee Jack Reiss counted him out at 2 minutes, 59 seconds. Kahn Clary laid a beating on him with both hands and Perez put himself in an even deeper hole in the fifth round when his repeated holding caused Reiss to deduct a point.
• Los Angeles welterweight Leonardo Chavez (4-1, 3 KOs) survived a knockdown and outpointed Mexico's Jair Quintero (4-5-2, 0 KOs) in a tough six-rounder. Chavez got the nod 58-56 on all three scorecards. In the second round, Qintero dropped Chavez to his rear end with a clean left hook just as the round was ending.
• Rowland Heights, California, welterweight Abraham Lopez (1-1) rolled to a 40-36 shutout decision across the board against Joann Valenzuela (1-4-1, 1 KO), of San Ardo, California, in a high-contact fight. Lopez took it to Valenzuela from the outset, lashing him with right hands and driving him into the ropes time and again.
• Chicago welterweight prospect "Bad Boy" Ed Brown (6-0, 6 KOs), who recently signed with manager Cameron Dunkin, blew out Phoenix's Jose Maruffo (8-2-2, 0 KOs), stopping him at 1 minute, 48 seconds of the second round. Brown, an aggressive fighter with good power, dropped Maruffo with a right hand in the second round and then unloaded numerous unanswered punches, including a nasty right uppercut, before referee Gerard White stepped in and stopped it.