UNCASVILLE, Connecticut – Mykquan Williams showed why he didn’t hesitate to take what was supposed to be the toughest fight of his career Wednesday night.

The 22-year-old Williams out-worked Yeis Solano, dropped the previously unbeaten Colombian southpaw in the eighth round and defeated him by unanimous decision in their televised 10-round junior welterweight fight at Mohegan Sun Arena. Judges Tom Carusone (97-92), Glenn Feldman (96-93) and Steve Weisfeld (96-93) all scored the diverse Williams the winner of a 10-round main event of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” doubleheader at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Williams, of East Hartford, Connecticut, remained undefeated (16-0-1, 7 KOs). Solano suffered his first professional loss (15-1, 10 KOs).

“It was definitely important not to just get the win, but to look good doing it,” Williams said. “I’ve been off for 15 months and this is a big platform to fight on. It’s my first televised fight, so I thought it was important to look good and showcase my skills.”

Williams landed 53 more punches than Solano, according to CompuBox’s unofficial statistics (200-of-646 to 147-of-519).

“The judges definitely got it right,” Williams said. “I thought I landed the bigger, sharper shots for sure. I let him do a little too much, though. He was shooting that straight left a lot, but I was catching most of them. He didn’t land too much.

“I would give myself a seven or eight out of 10. I could have done a lot more. The first couple rounds were good, but in the middle of the fight, I kind of let him back in. But I adjusted and picked it back up, and got my second wind in the latter rounds.”

Referee Danny Schiavone took away a point from Solano with 2:29 to go in the 10th round for another low blow. Schiavone counted a knockdown for Solano with about a minute to go in their bout, but it appeared as if their legs got tangled and their heads clashed as Williams lost his balance.

Both of those point deductions were overturned soon after their fight concluded.

Williams caught Solano with a counter left hook on the inside with a minute remaining in the ninth round.

Williams’ right hand to the shoulder sent an off-balance Solano to the canvas just before the midway mark of the eighth round. Solano seemed more surprised than hurt, and he got right to his feet.

That marked the first time Solano went down in his 16-fight, five-year pro career.

Schiavone warned Solano for low blows with just under 2:20 to go in the eighth round. Schiavone told Solano he would deduct a point if he hit Williams low again.

Williams was effective from mid-range in the seventh round, when he was more active and accurate than Solano.

Williams and Solano traded on the inside for much of the sixth round. Williams went after Solano’s body in that round, and landed two hard power punches in the final 30 seconds of it that snapped back Solano’s head.

Solano pressed the action and out-landed Williams in the fifth round.

A right hook by Solano nailed Williams just after the halfway point of the fourth round. Williams’ right hand made Solano stumble backward with just under 40 seconds to go in the fourth.

Solano didn’t seem hurt, however, as he came back to throw hard combinations later in the fourth.

Solano’s left hand landed flush with about 20 seconds to go in the third round. He added another straight left before the third round concluded.

Williams caught Solano with a counter left hook earlier in the third round.

Williams defended himself well in the first two minutes of the second round. Solano nailed him with a right hand that snapped back Williams’ head with about a minute to go in that round, though.

Solano went down to one knee with just about a minute remaining in the opening round, but Schiavone ruled that Williams shoved him down.

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