By Jake Donovan

David Quijano couldn't have asked for a more favorable ring return following an extended absence and lengthy losing streak. The struggling super flyweight from Caguas, Puerto Rico pulled off a shocking upset, outworking local favorite Daniel Lozano over 10 rounds Friday evening at A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa, Florida. 

Scores were 95-94 (twice) and 96-93 in the Telemundo-televised headliner. 

Lozano came into the fight well aware that a win was necessary in order to turn around his suddenly fledging career. The compact super flyweight registered his last victory in this very arena, though that moment coming 54 weeks ago over Jonathan Vidal.

He has since dropped back-to-back decisions to David Carmona and Ricardo Rodriguez in what has been a forgettable 2015 campaign. Friday's result not only piled on, but perhaps pounded the proverbial nail in the coffin.

Quijano jumped out to a strong start, showing no signs of ring rust despite having not fought since last June. The battle-tested Boricua played on the experience gained in losses to the likes of Omar Narvaez, Emmanuel Rodriguez and McJoe Arroyo, confident that nothing the 25-year old local boxer could offer would match what he's already seen. 

The first sign of an unexpected outcome came in round three, when Quijano briefly stunned Lozano during an exchange along the ropes. While the threat of a knockout never surfaced, the sequence was enough to prompt both fighters to put that much more behind their punches.

It also served as a wakeup call for Lozano, who managed to dig hismself into an early hole. He tried his damnest to turn things around, picking up the pace over the second half of the fight. It wasn't enough to keep Quijano at bay, as the 29-year old Boricua already envisioned a brighter future than most would have thought prior to the opening bell. 

Lozano's last ray of hope came in round nine, when Quijano was docked for holding and hitting. Still, it wasn't enough to overcome the early damage done on the scorecards, as the

Boxeo Telemundo

series provides an entrant in the Upset of the Year race.

Quijano improves to 16-5-1 (9KOs), picking up his first win in more than three years. The win was an emotional one, as he dedicated the fight to fellow islander Prichard Colon, who remains in a coma following a foul-filled disqualification loss to Terrel Williams last week in Washington D.C. 

As for Lozano, it might be time to start thinking about an exit strategy. The loss is his third straight, and fourth in his past six fights as he falls to 13-4 (10KOs).

UNDERCARD

Sammy Valentin made a huge splash in his first official fight under the All Star Boxing banner, cruising to a 1st round knockout of Moises Carrasquillo. A pair of knockdowns prompted the stoppage, as the 21-year old from Tampa advances to 5-0 (4KOs). 

Argentina's Martin Rueda (24-0, 21KOs) enjoyed a successful first fight outside of his home country, scorin his eighth consecutive knockout with a 3rd round knockout of Manuel de los Reyes in their super featherweight bout. A flush shot downstairs put de los Reyes down and out.  

In another fight where a perceived opponent from Puerto Rico upset a local favorite, Harold Reyes pulled off a shocking majority decision win over Thonotasassa's Ricky Tomlinson (4-2-2), Scores were 38-38 even and 39-37 (twice) in favor of Reyes (2-2, 0KOs), whose previous lone win came in his pro debut last February. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox