Adam Lopez had far more time to prepare for his latest bout than in his previous trip to Sin City.

Fittingly it came against the very opponent he was due to face last time around.

The resurgent featherweight contender returned to the win column, after outpointing Luis Coria over 10 rounds in a firefight Thursday evening live on ESPN.

Judge Dave Moretti had the action even at 95-95, overruled by matching scorecards of 96-94 turned in by Steve Weisfeld and Tim Cheatham for the featherweight bout, which played to a crowdless venue at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“That was my toughest test to date,” Lopez (14-2, 6KOs) told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna after his win, which opened up a four-fight telecast though serving as the evening’s chief support. “I’ve always said it was Jean Carlos Rivera (whom Lopez stopped in seven rounds after climbing off the canvas last May), but that was my toughest. He was relentless. Honestly, I hurt my hand by hitting him so much.”

Lopez’ last appearance in Vegas came in his back-and-forth thriller with undefeated former featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez. The second-generation boxer from Glendale, California took the fight on less than 24 hours’ notice after filling in for a beefy Andres Gutierrez who miserably missed weight. Lopez was valiant in defeat, dropping Valdez early before suffering a questionable 7th round stoppage.

The late switch was made possible due to Lopez already being scheduled to appear on thatundercard, againstCoria who was sadly left without a fight that evening. Both were given their chance to shine once Top Rank was able to establish its summer boxing series and fought as if they’ve spent the past eight months preparing for one another, combining to throw 1,400 punches over 10 rounds.

Action was furious from the opening bell, with Lopez–whose father Hector was a durable gatekeeper in the 140-pound division in the 1990s—fighting well off of the ropes and scoring with uppercuts on the inside. His desire to force a slugfest didn’t at all deter Coria, who landed left hooks and right hands whenever the action made its way towards the center of the ring.

Both fighters combined to throw 173 punches in the opening round, somehow exceeding hectic pace in round two. Coria—a Robert Garcia-trained 21-year old featherweight from Moreno Valley, California—kept coming forward, not at all intimidated by his more seasoned foe. Lopez’s efforts to wear down Coria weren’t taking, at least not early as Coria threw 103 punches in the round to go with the 81 he launched in the opening frame.

Lopez—trained by Hall of Fame former two-division champ Buddy McGirt—offered a bit more lateral movement in round three, forcing a lower punch output from both fighters but which worked to his advantage despite his early role as the aggressor. Coria struggled to adjust to Lopez’s strategy switch, failing to cut off the ring as Lopez darted in and out with rapid fire combinations in round four.

The same trend continued through more of round five, though Coria managed to close the gap by round’s end. The success was short-lived as Coria once again found himself at the end of Lopez’s steady jab in round six Time spent at close quarters was well managed by Lopez, who dug with left hooks to the body as he continued to control the action.

Falling well behind on the scorecards, Coria managed to turn the tide in the later rounds. He continued to remain the busier fighter, though Lopez was the far more efficient puncher. That changed in round eight, when Coria was able to outwork Lopez for the first time since early in the contest. It carried over into round nine, as Lopez struggled to catch his second wind. As much was detected by Coria’s corner, as Garcia urged his trainer to let it all hang out in the final three minutes. 

Similar advice was given to Lopez by McGirt, who insisted that he owed it to himself to finish strong. Both fighters did their best to heed the advice of their A-list trainers, providing terrific two-way action in the final frame. It wasn’t quite enough for Coria to pull off the upset, but—as Lopez managed to do in this town seven months ago—certainly earned another televised opportunity.

Lopez was the more efficient of the two in landing 259 of 754 total punches (34.3%) according to CompuBox as he picks up his first win in more than a year.

Coria (12-3, 7KOs) was the busier of the two, launching 846 total punches, landing 175 (20.7%) but just not enough to extend his three-fight win streak.

He did land enough to leave the winner with a swollen left eye and bloodied lip, along with plenty to think about as he rests up for his next ring adventure.

“I don’t know if this will rank me but I want to be in the top 10,” notes Lopez. “This was not my best fight. I give myself a C. I have a lot to learn. I only have 16 fights, I want to keep getting better.”

The bout served in supporting capacity to a featherweight clash between Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18KOs) and Yenifel Vicente (36-4-2, 28KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox