Brian Norman Jr. was once again forced to go to the scorecards.

The second-generation boxer preserved his unbeaten record following an eight-round, unanimous decision over Tijuana’s Jesus Antonio Perez. Judges Tom Carisone (77-75), Zachary Young (77-75) and Robert Hoyle (78-74) all scored for Norman in their welterweight bout of an ESPN+ telecast Saturday evening from Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.

Signs of promise were offered by Norman, an unbeaten prospect from the greater Atlanta area who jumped out to an early lead. The work rate of the 22-year-old welterweight dramatically decreased as Perez (24-5, 18KOs) came forward and applied pressure, even if he didn’t always land his punches.

Perez found success with his right hand in the second half of the fight. The sturdy gatekeeper was also able to land to the body, though Norman was able to respond with left hooks downstairs.

Both boxers picked up the pace in the eighth and final round, Norman was given a harsh lecture by his father and head trainer Brian Norman Sr., a super middleweight during his eight-year pro career who demanded his son not settle for mediocrity. The younger Norman closed strong, even in having to settle for his second straight decision win after he stopped each of his previous six opponents.

Norman—managed by Jolene Mizzone under the Fighters First Management banner—advanced to 24-0 (19KOs) with his second win since he signed with Top Rank last December.

Norman-Perez opened a seven-fight show. Headlining on the ESPN portion of the event, Janibek Alimkhanuly (13-0, 8KOs) defends his WBO middleweight title versus Montreal’s Steven Butler (32-3-1, 26KOs).

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