In a sterling performance, Edwin Valero remained perfect as he improved to 27-0 with 27 knockouts and retained the WBC lightweight title with a dominant ninth-round TKO over WBC interim titleholder Antonio DeMarco in Monterrey, Mexico.

Valero, who showed he was anything but one-dimensional, rallied after suffering a cut on the cheek in the first round and a severe gash on his forehead from an unintentional elbow in the second, to control all the rounds. The event was the first SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast to emanate from Mexico in nearly 12 years and the first in Monterrey in more than 15.

World-ranked welterweight Luis Carlos Abregu upped his record to 29-0 with a clear-cut, 10-round unanimous decision over Richard Gutierrez in the co-feature.