MINNEAPOLIS – Michel Rivera settled for another win on a night he hoped to make a statement.

Miami’s Rivera boxed his way to a ten-round, unanimous decision over Joseph Adorno in a battle of unbeaten lightweights. Judges Patrick Morley (97-93), Gary Ritter (97-93) and Tim Taggart Sr (97-93) all scored in favor of Rivera in their Showtime-televised chief support Saturday evening at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Rivera looked to establish his jab in the opening round, though often coming up short. Adorno—traditionally selective with his punches—spent most of the frame measuring up Rivera, constantly circling to his left in search of a home for his straight right hand.

Rivera—who relocated from Dominican Republic to Miami upon linking with head trainer German Caicedo—landed the first significant punch of the fight, connecting with a straight right hand behind a stiff jab. Adorno took the shot well but could not position himself to counter, having to fend off another combination later in the round. Rivera was pushed back to the ropes but able to avoid a left hand from Adorno at the bell.

Adorno hit his stride in round three, punching with confidence as Rivera was often short with his jab. Adorno offered constant lateral movement in round four, not allowing Rivera to sit down on his punches and negating a three-inch height and reach disadvantage with the approach. The closest either came to a knockdown was when both boxers tumbled to the canvas during an awkward inside exchange.

Rivera was more successful in cutting off the ring in round five. Adorno continued to box from the outside but was forced to work his way out of a corner midway through the round. Rivera continued to work behind his jab, but overcommitted on a left hand as Adorno countered with a left hook to the body just before the bell.

Adorno was forced to clinch on two separate occasions as Rivera closed the gap in round six. Action picked up in the back half of the round, with Adorno riding out consecutive jabs from Rivera to catch the unbeaten Dominican with a clean right hand. Rivera briefly stutter-stepped but recovered enough to the point of landing a right hand of his own.

Referee Mark Calo-oy was forced to intervene in round seven, as Adorno slipped to the canvas. Neither fighter managed to get their offense untracked from there, with the jam-packed announced crowd of 4,394 beginning to grow restless from the lack of action in what was billed during the week as the potential fight of the night.

Action was still sparse in the closing rounds. Adorno managed to have his say on the occasions he let his right hand rip, though not nearly enough to make an impact. The unbeaten Boricua was warned for a low blow, attempting to dap Rivera who didn’t want any part of the amicable exchange.

Rivera jabbed with purpose in the tenth and final round, pushing back Adorno who used lateral movement to reset his offense. Adorno managed a right hand upstairs and left hook to the body in the closing seconds of the fight, though far too little and far too late—seemingly the story of his career as Adorno remains without a win in more than two years. The Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Puerto Rican falls to 14-1-2 (12KOs), suffering his first defeat though coming after back-to-back draws and having missed weight for at least three scheduled fights during that stretch.

Rivera advances to 23-0 (14KOs), as he remains a top-rated WBA lightweight contender.

Rivera-Adorno served as the co-feature on a Showtime tripleheader. Headlining the show, Australian contender Tim Tszyu (20-0, 15KOs) makes his U.S. debut in a scheduled 12-round junior middleweight clash with 2012 U.S. Olympian and former title challenger Terrell Gausha (22-2-1, 11KOs).

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