It was never easy for Isaac Cruz but well worth the journey in the end.

The 5’4” lightweight from Mexico City did his best to turn a wrestling match into a fight, though was properly compensated in a 12-round unanimous decision win over Matias Romero. Judges Glenn Feldman (114-113).

Steve Weisfeld (a questionable 118-109 card) and Kevin Morgan (115-112) all ruled it in favor of Cruz in their WBA lightweight title eliminator Saturday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Cruz insisted prior to the fight that he didn’t feel any pressure to live up to his previous performance, an explosive 53-second knockout of former title challenger Diego Magdaleno last Halloween in San Antonio. The squat Mexican stayed true to his word, coming forward and simply executing the game plan as mapped out by his team.

Romero did his best to put his height and reach advantages to good use, boxing from the outside and landing a heavy jab. Unfortunately, his main default to combat against Cruz’s relentless pressure was to frequently clinch. It made for a slow-paced opening round, though with the threat of action picking up soon thereafter.

Within the first minute of round two, Romero twice fell to the canvas—both in attempts to clinch during exchanges. The unbeaten Argentinean drew another warning for the infraction from referee Harvey Dock, though it was far from the last foul to be called in the disappointingly sloppy affair. Romero was effective with his right uppercut from the outside, though overshadowed by his propensity for clinching anytime Cruz worked his way inside.

Cruz drew a warning for a low blow in round three, though Romero was accused of pulling down on his opponent’s head to cause the foul. Cruz continued to let his hands go whenever they were free, while Romero looked to work his jab and keep the fight on the outside.

By round four, Romero’s game plan seemed limited to circling the exterior of the ring and simply holding onto Cruz whenever the threat of a fight surfaced. Cruz managed a right hand late in the round, with Romero dipping down and pitching forward which caused a clash of heads. Romero suffered a cut over his right eye which was examined by the ringside physician prior to the start of round five.

Cruz went on the attack in round six, though was a bit too overzealous. A wild right hand strayed well south of the border, resulting in a point deduction. Romero took his time to recover, spending the rest of the round on the outside.

Romero was warned by his own corner—including head trainer German Caicedo—to avoid excessive clinching given the numerous warnings issued by the referee. He did his best to oblige, only to leave himself open for body shots from Cruz after leaving his midsection exposed while bending low at close quarters. Cruz took advantage, connecting with right hands and left hooks downstairs.

Cruz briefly buzzed Romero in round eight, though unable to follow up on the sequence. Romero was still on the move though occasionally planting his feet and firing off combinations. Cruz managed to close the gap, though an attempted chopping right hand instead resulted in pushing his foe to the canvas.

Both boxers landed right uppercuts in the early moments of round nine, with Romero getting the better of the exchange. Cruz charged forward, targeting the body with his right hand only to leave himself open for a four-punch combination by Romero. Cruz remained undeterred, working his way back inside and landing consecutive right uppercuts with roughly 30 seconds to go in the round.

Cruz landed his most telling blows of the fight in the final minute of round ten. The streaking contender connected with a heavy right hand which Romero took well but was momentarily frozen along the ropes.

Momentum remained with Cruz in the championship rounds, marking the first time in his career where he has been forced to enter round 12. It came with his finally establishing a jab, which helped set up right hands and left hooks upstairs. Romero’s offensive output miserably trailed off at the wrong time, settling for lateral movement and more holding in efforts to disrupt Cruz’s rhythm.

Cruz-Romero served as the chief support of a televised tripleheader. Headlining the show, David Benavidez (23-0, 20KOs) faces Ronald Ellis (18-1-2, 12KOs) in a scheduled 12-round super middleweight title eliminator.

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