Alex Martin overcame an early knockdown and rough start to turn away a durable ring veteran.

An emotional fight week ended in victory for Chicago’s Martin, who outpointed Philadelphia’s Hank Lundy over ten rounds Saturday evening at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Scores were 98-91, 97-92 and 97-92 in favor of Martin, whose brother passed away just six days ago.

The matchup was far more entertaining during fight week, including a contentious staredown and exchange of words during Friday’s pre-fight weigh-in. The clash of styles made for an awkward affair once the opening bell sounded, with Lundy walking forward and Martin looking for counter opportunities that were few and far between for the Chicagoland gatekeeper.

Lundy jumped out to an early lead, flooring Martin with a left hand in the opening round. It came as the switch-hitting veteran was boxing out of the southpaw stance, which was his approach for much of the fight though often reverting to orthodox. The tactic seemed to trouble Martin, who couldn’t offer a sustained attack even on occasions where he was able to catch Lundy with a straight left or a right hook.

It was as good as it would get for Lundy, who wouldn’t win another round on one scorecard and claimed just one of the final nine rounds on the remaining two cards.

Martin did a better job of asserting himself in the second half of the fight, though Lundy showed slick infighting skills. Martin had Lundy pinned down with his jab, only for his left hand to sail overhead and badly miss its mark.

Lundy toyed with Martin in the later rounds, though often to the point of being outworked. He fought with purpose to start the tenth and final round, letting his hands go only to stumble to the canvas in what was correctly ruled a slip. Martin used the opportunity to pick up the pace, targeting Lundy’s body while pinning him along the ropes.

Both fighters spilled to the canvas with roughly 0:35 to go in the contest. Lundy ducked an incoming shot by Martin, attempting to lift him up with his shoulder. Martin wrapped his arm around Lundy’s head and pulled him down, with Lundy wincing in pain as time was called. Referee Laurence Cole warned both fighters for roughhousing, though Lundy found himself back on the deck from another spill in the closing seconds of the contest.

Lundy suffers his third straight defeat, falling to 31-11-1 (14KOs) though vehemently disagreeing with the decision. The general reaction from home viewers offering their opinion through social media seemed to support his cause, though it doesn’t change the outcome as he remains winless since the pandemic.

Martin advances to 18-4 (6KOs), resuming his winning ways after dropping a ten-round decision to England’s Michael McKinson (22-0, 2KOs) in a last-minute opportunity this past March 19 in Los Angeles. Martin accepted the fight on less than 48 hours’ notice, eventually filling the void left behind by Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18KOs) who was pulled from the show after being hospitalized to treat a bout with rhabdomyolysis toward the end of training camp.

Ortiz and McKinson headline Saturday’s show live on DAZN.

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