LAS VEGAS – Keenan Carbajal competed as best he could in the biggest fight of his life Saturday night.

Ultimately, though, former four-division champion was a bit too much for Carbajal, who took a steep step up in competition in their 10-round, 130-pound fight on the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios undercard at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino's Michelob ULTRA Arena. Santa Cruz won a unanimous decision in his first fight since Gervonta Davis knocked him unconscious in the sixth round of their 130-pound and 135-pound championship match in October 2020 at Alamodome in San Antonio.

All three judges scored their largely unremarkable fight a shutout for Santa Cruz, who won 100-90 on each scorecard. Santa Cruz (38-2-1, 19 KOs), of Rosemead, California, ended the 18-fight winning streak of Phoenix’s Carbajal (23-3-1, 15 KOs), the estranged great nephew of legendary light flyweight champion Michael Carbajal.

Santa Cruz, 33, fought for eight-plus rounds with a cut across his right eyelid. Carbajal, 30, seemed content to have gone the distance with by far the most formidable opponent of his eight-year pro career.

In the 10th and final round, Santa Cruz was the aggressor again and landed several hard punches to Carbajal’s head and body.

Santa Cruz caught Carbajal with a left hook up top that made Carbajal reset his feet. Santa Cruz attempted to follow up after landing that shot, but he couldn’t hurt Carbajal again.

Santa Cruz was the busier fighter during the seventh and eighth rounds. He blocked most of Carbajal’s punches in those rounds and landed the harder shots.

A ringside doctor took another look at the cut along Santa Cruz’s right eyelid during the sixth round. Santa Cruz again fought more aggressively once that cut was brought to the doctor’s attention a second time.

Hoyle had a ringside physician look at the cut above Santa Cruz’s right eye in the fourth round. That round was relatively competitive, as Santa Cruz and Carbajal consistently exchanged punches.

There was a brief break in the action in the middle of the second round because Santa Cruz suffered a cut beneath his left eye from an accidental head-butt. Santa Cruz was aggressive after the break ended and landed a hard left hand, and then a right just before the second round concluded.

Santa Cruz landed a left hook toward the end of what was largely a feel-out first round.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.