By Jake Donovan

Jessie Vargas remained unbeaten after cruising to a unanimous decision over Aaron Martinez in their 10-round headliner Thursday evening at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Scores were 99-91, 98-92 and an absurdly close 96-94 in favor of Vargas.

The bout was exciting yet one-sided throughout the evening. Vargas could have easily boxed his way to the finish line, but repeatedly invited Martinez to trade whenever the opportunity presented itself. 

Martinez was game, but couldn't manage more than a round or two of sustained success. Vargas was quicker to the punch and the busier fighter over the course of the 10-round contest.

Vargas improves to 20-0-1 (9KO) with the win, his second since signing with Top Rank earlier this year.

Martinez falls to 18-2-1 (4KO), the loss snapping a 10-fight win streak dating back to April '09.

UNDERCARD

Jose Felix Jr. survived a mid-fight knockdown to outwork former standout prospect Luis Cruz in their 10-round televised co-feature.

Scores were 96-94 (twice) and 97-92 in their super featherweight bout. The decision was met with mixed reviews, but was the right call. 

Felix Jr. entered the fight with a thin resume as he fought in the United States for the first time. He didn't seem at all fazed by the circumstances or the highly regarded opponent in front of him. 

Cruz managed to land the bigger shots throughout the fight, but didn't put enough of them together in the second half to preserve his early lead.

Felix improves to 21-0-1 (17KO) with the win, by far the biggest of his career. 

Cruz falls to 20-2 (16KO), having now lost for the second time in his past three contests. Cruz dropped a majority decision to Juan Carlos Burgos last November in a fight that would have put him in line for a shot at the super featherweight title.

Both bouts aired on ESPN2 on a special Thursday night post-season edition of boxing.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox