Keith Thurman scored an impressive win over Robert Guerrero in the main event of the first "Premier Boxing Champions" fight card on NBC on Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thurman ran away with a lopsided decision loss with the judges scoring it 120-107, 118-109 and 118-108, but the fight was more exciting than what the scorecards suggested.

Thurman and Guerrero stood toe-to-toe against each other for the entire fight, which turned out to be a bruising encounter between the two welterweights.

Fighting with a hematoma on his forehead he sustained during an accidental clash of heads in the third round, Thurman managed to keep control of the fight and punctuated his dominance with a scintillating blow in the ninth round that sent Guerrero down to the canvass.

Guerrero fought back in the tenth round in a bid to score a knockout. The two fighters exchanged heavy blows in the final rounds before Thurman sealed his victory, but not after Guerrero earned the admiration of the crowd for showing a lot heart from rounds 10 to 12 of the bout.

"Robert Guerrero was a tremendous warrior," Thurman said of his opponent after the fight. "He's known as 'The Ghost' and is a veteran, a former world champion. He showed it today and was a little calmer. I thought he was going to press more in the beginning rounds. But he's a veteran, and he knew how to pace himself."

Guerrero, who took his third loss in 36 career fights, said that he is now aware why the World Boxing Association world welterweight champion is called "One Time" as he admitted after the match that Thurman's punching power caught him by surprise.

"Thurman is a tough fighter. He came to fight. Now I know why they call him 'One Time.' He has a lot of power in both of his hands and is fast," Guerrero said. "I came to fight. I know I didn't win the fight but I won the hearts of America. I always come through and keep fighting my heart out, and that's why the fans love me."

Before the main event, Adrien Broner moved one step closer to becoming a world champion again after dominating John Molina Jr. in their junior welterweight non-title fight. Two judges scored it 120-108, while the other one had it 118-110 for the former WBA World welterweight champion.

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