Roger Gutierrez always sensed that his third fight with Rene Alvarado would look far different from the preceding meetings in their trilogy.

What he did expect, however, is to finish the fight with two healthy hands and well before the twelve-round distance. The streaking junior lightweight from Venezuela had to settle for a second straight distance win, once again outpointing Nicaragua’s Alvarado (32-10, 21KOs).

“I hurt my right hand, it was very inconvenient because I feel like I could have ended the fight earlier,” Gutierrez claimed after securing the unanimous decision win.

The rubber match—which recently took place on DAZN from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas—came six months after Gutierrez (26-3-1, 20KOs) defeated Alvarado to win a secondary version of the WBA junior lightweight title. That rematch was held at nearby American Airlines Center in Dallas, with Gutierrez scoring three knockdowns which proved to be the difference on all three scorecards in avenging a knockout loss from July 2017.

Gutierrez hoped to pick up on that momentum, but a right hand landing the wrong way in the early rounds instead left him to rely more on his jab. A solid boxing performance came of the outing, with the streaking junior lightweight eager to move on with his career.

“[W]e were victorious and that is the most important thing,” notes Gutierrez. “I know Rene is a warrior, but we had a good fight.

“We are happy to take on the next challenge, and perhaps fight [former four-division titlist] Leo Santa Cruz.”

Next up for Gutierrez will be a clash with Chris Colbert. Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, president of WBA informed BoxingScene.com that the two sides will have until September 15 to agree to terms before going to a purse bid hearing.

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