By Jake Donovan

Whether or not it returns him to the title stage, Ganigan Lopez put himself in the best possible position for at least one more run at the top level. 

The former junior flyweight titlist boxed smartly early and fended off a late surge by Saul 'Baby' Juarez to take a well-earned 10-round split decision Friday evening at Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City, Mexico.

Scores were 96-94 across the board, one card in favor of Juarez but overruled by matching tallies for Lopez in their Telemundo-televised headliner.

The pair of Mexico City-based junior flyweights both entered the night badly in need of a win, prompting the evening's "Ahora ó Nunca" ("Now or Never") tagline. It didn't produce the type of desperation slugfest that tends to come with such a pairing; instead a battle of wits between two ring veterans. 

Lopez proved to be the more resourceful of the two, returning back to his smart boxing style after having suffered knockout defeats in two of his last three starts. Granted, those losses came at the title level but the now 37-year old southpaw looked long in the tooth particularly in his last fight when he was manhandled over eight rounds by then-titlist Angel Acosta. 

That same fate never came close to materializing on Friday. Lopez employed a stick-and-move approach versus his naturally aggressive countryman, picking his spots on the occasions where he controlled the offensive flow and wisely counterpunching whenever Juarez sought to dictate the pace. 

It built up an early lead and also left Lopez well preserved for the later rounds, where Juarez began to enjoy more success. The second-generation boxer hoped to become the first in his family to win a major title, with older brother Raul Juarez coming up short in four separate bids and father Raul Lopez never quite making it to that stage.

The youngest of the bunch has historically performed well at the top level, even when coming up short with the grand prize on the line. He owns four wins over former titlists, having scored two each versus Adrian Hernandez and Oswaldo Novoa (with whom he also fought to a draw) while suffering close but clear losses to the likes of Milan Melindo and Jose Argumedo. 

Bids versus still-unbeaten titlists Wanheng Menayothin and Ken Shiro (who unseated Ganigan Lopez and subsequently knocked him out in two rounds in their rematch last May) showed his fighting heart, even if an inability to surge ahead at that level. 

The loss to Menayothin kicked off a stretch where he managed just one win in a span of seven fights. Juarez bounced back with a narrow win over countryman Mario Andrade earlier this year after fighting to a draw last summer. 

By the time the final bell sounded in Friday's main event, Juarez (25-10-2, 13KOs) once again found himself just short of glory—this time perhaps the most damaging blow as the losses continue to pile up for the squat veteran. 

At 37, it is truly ahora ó nunca for Lopez but his latest win at least keeps him in the conversation. The southpaw moves to 36-9 (19KOs), with the outcome continuing a trend of lose one, win one over his last six starts beginning with his hard-fought 12-round loss to Shiro to end his title reign more than two years ago. 

A knockout loss in their rematch last May coupled with his one-sided defeat at the hands of Acosta earlier this year figured to spell the end of his career. Perhaps his latest win provides false hope for a brighter future, but Lopez at the very least showed the necessary ring smarts to remain afloat. 

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