Robson Conceicao somehow escaped the scariest fight of his career with his unblemished record still intact.

The three-time Brazilian Olympian and 2016 Olympic Gold medalist survived a knockdown, two point deductions and a bloodied mouth to outlast Luis Coria in earning a disputed unanimous decision Saturday evening at The Bubble at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Judge Eric Cheek scored the contest 94-93, while judges John McKaie and Don Trella both had it 95-92 in favor of Conceicao in one of the best fights of 2020.

Conceicao looked to put his perceived superior boxing skills to use, but the unbeaten junior lightweight discovered quickly that he was in a real fight. Coria has always given a good account of himself, even in defeat as evidenced in his narrow loss to featherweight contender Adam Lopez in this very venue earlier this June. Both boxers had their moment in the opening round, Conceicao scoring with quick right hands while Coria landed the more telling blows.

That part was never more evident than early in round two. Coria caught Conceicao with an uppercut earlier in the frame before connecting with a left hook to the temple, with a follow-up right hand offered as window dressing as the unbeaten Brazilian was sent sprawling to the canvas. Conceicao beat the count but spent a large portion of the round trying to find his legs as Coria sought to close the show.

Conceicao righted the ship in a strong round three, outboxing the Robert Garcia-trained Coria for much of the frame. He was on his way to a solid round four as well, only to suffer a point deduction for low blows by a quick-to-the-trigger referee Mike Ortega, who never previously offered verbal warnings for the infraction. Coria looked to make it a 10-8 round, connecting with a left hook but unable to recapture the magic from earlier in the bout.

The action didn’t let up in round five, at times initiated by a more active Conceicao who punched in combination. Coria welcomed the inside fight, scoring with right hands but missing with sweeping left hooks as Conceicao clearly learned his lesson even if fighting through a bloodied lip.

Both boxers let their hands go in a relentless round six. It was yet another frame where Conceicao would fall further behind on the scorecards, however, as he was deducted a second point for low blows. The Brazilian prospect came storming back, landing in combination upstairs only to Coria to quickly adapt and match Conceicao for the rest of the frame including several right hands and left hooks upstairs.

Not resting on his lead, Coria went to work in round seven. The Californian connected with an overhand right which forced Conceicao to clinch. Conceicao landed a flush left hook late in the frame, but not before absorbing a jaw-jarring right uppercut and several power punches from Coria who saw the upset well within sight.

Conceicao dug deep to outwork Coria in round eight as both boxers pushed through fatigue in their non-stop affair. Conceicao continued to work the body despite flirting with disqualification, placing his shots well. Coria struggled to find his range in the round, but bounced back strongly in round nine. Conceicao continued to come forward, clearly aware he needed a strong finish to have any shot at preserving his unbeaten record.

The hard, grueling affair enjoyed the furiously paced 10th and final round it deserved. Conceicao came out the gate, connecting with a leaping left hook. Coria stood his ground, firing back with chopping right hands. Conceicao was able to play defense, slipping shots and responding with overhand rights. Coria refused to wilt but remained well within punching range as Conceicao landed overhand rights and left hooks, clearly hoping to close the show in style.

It was enough to get the job done, as Conceicao improves to 15-0 (7KOs). However you feel about the decision, it was a major gut check survived as a lesser man would’ve thrown in the towel.

Coria has now delivered the fight of his career in two straight Bubble appearances and without a win to show for it. Four months after falling just short to Adam Lopez, a narrow loss sends Coria’s record to 12-4 (7KOs).

The bout served as the main event on the ESPN+ preliminary card. Headlining the overall card, Japan’s Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16KOs) defends his unified bantamweight titles versus Australia’s Jason Moloney (21-1, 18KOs).

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