PHILADELPHIA – Antonio Moran has long had a reputation as a gatekeeper of the lightweight divisions. On Saturday night, the gate was closed on Mykquan Williams.

Two judges scored the fight 97-93 in favor of Moran, while the third had it even, sending Williams, of Hartford, Connecticut, to his first professional defeat via majority decision. Moran, a 32-year-old from Mexico City, had previously lost to Andy Cruz, Jamaine Ortiz and Devin Haney, but he picked up by far the biggest win of his 13-year career here.

Moran, 31-7-1 (21 KOs), had the crowd behind him at the 2300 Arena, as fans chanted “Meh-hee-co!” each time he attempted to corner the previously unbeaten Williams. Williams set the tempo in the first round, landing a left hook that rocked Moran back. Moran, who had about a 5in height advantage on the 5ft 6ins Williams, began to give up his height by dipping down to land left hooks, which gave Williams a chance to land counter right hands.

Williams nearly ended the fight in the fourth round, as a counter right stiffened Moran’s legs and opened him up to a sustained assault that might have been stopped by other referees. Moran was on Bambi legs the rest of the round, and was dazed once more at the bell, nearly falling on his stool.

The offensive explosion from Williams required him to slow things down in the fifth, allowing Moran to dictate pace and pressure his opponent. Williams turned his offense back up in the sixth, rocking Moran and causing him to wobble once more. Moran survived yet again, and began targeting the body, particularly with left hooks, in the seventh – and was also warned for rabbit punching in that same round. Rabbit punches became a frequent part of Moran’s offense as the rounds went on, and Williams opted to clinch to slow his opponent down. Moran continued to push the pace, landing strong rights on Williams’ face, which gradually began to show their effects.

With his opponent beginning to fade, Moran kept the pressure up, hurting Williams badly in the 10th round and pursuing him across the ring in an attempt to finish him. Williams survived the onslaught, but the decisive final round put a punctuation mark on Moran’s effort.

Williams, 22-1-2 (11 KOs), who is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and managed by Jackie Kallen, entered the fight rated No. 6 by the WBO and No. 13 by the WBA. Moran will likely be rated by the WBO at 140lbs with the victory, as the WBO International belt was at stake.

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.