Perez used sharp counterpunching and power shots to retain his interim WBA 112-pound title in a dominant unanimous decision over Yankiel Rivera at Kiva Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday. It headlined a Salita Promotions card on DAZN.

Patrick Morley had a 120-107 shutout for Perez in his first title defense. Raul Caiz Sr. had it 119-109 and Nexis Novoa scored it 118-109.

It didn’t take long for Perez (16-0, 7 KOs), an Albuquerque native, to find the target. He connected with a straight right hand early in the first round, which effectively set the tone for the rest of the fight. The series of flush power and counter shots left the Puerto Rican southpaw with a bloody nose before Round 2.

Perez, 27, landed another blistering straight right hand followed by a grazing left hook and right hook that sent Rivera (8-2-1, 4 KOs) to the canvas late in the second. Through two rounds, Perez, The Ring's No. 8 flyweight contender for its vacant title, seemingly had a harder time missing the target than connecting with power punches.

Sensing the fight was slipping from his grasp, Rivera, 29, ratcheted up the pressure and made a concerted effort to get on the inside. It worked to some avail, as he was able to land solid hooks to the body and found a home for his left hand.

Rivera’s aggression also led to multiple cuts from headbutts. Perez had two separate cuts on his left eye, one on his eyelid and one above his eyebrow in the fourth round. He also later developed a cut on the bridge of his nose.

Rivera couldn’t mount enough success to work his way into the fight due to his lack of defense and head movement. Perez’s power punching and ability to use Rivera’s aggression against himself told the tale of the fight.

Sergio Mendoza (28-1, 24 KOs), The Ring's No. 3 flyweight contender, holds the full WBA title along with the WBO belt.

Atif Oberlton boxed his way to a split decision victory over Deon Nicholson.

Judges Esther Lopez and Mark Sanchez had it 98-92 for Oberlton (18-0, 14 KOs), while Anthony Romero scored 96-94 for Nicholson (23-2, 19 KOs).

Oberlton, 28, leaned on his significant height and reach advantage by using his jab to keep Nicholson on the outside in their 10-round light heavyweight contest. Part of that was due to what appeared to be a left biceps injury, which hampered him from throwing his left hand. The 6-foot-3 southpaw from Philadelphia said in the post-fight interview that the injury happened in the first round.

Nicholson, 36, struggled to take advantage of Oberlton only having one arm. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native entered the fight on a nine-fight win streak.

Very little separated the two, but it was Pryce Taylor who emerged with a split decision over Tsotne Rogava in their 10-round heavyweight fight.

Caiz Sr. and Lopez scored the fight 96-94 for Taylor (14-0, 8 KOs). Sanchez had it 97-93 for the 2020 Ukrainian Olympian.

It was a slow-paced heavyweight bout that lacked significant moments for either fighter. Taylor, a 30-year-old from New York, had his most success when he let his hands go from range and punched in combinations. Rogava (13-2, 8 KOs), 33, had his best moments when he was pressuring Taylor and fighting on the inside.

Sardarius Simmons’ speed, skills and defense were too much for Cesar Navarro.

Simmons (11-0, 6 KOs) controlled the majority of the bout and stayed unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Navarro (15-5, 13 KOs) in an eight-round heavyweight bout. Lopez had it 78-74, and Morley and Romero scored the fight 77-75.

Mexico’s Navarro got off to a scorching start by getting Simmons trapped in a corner and unleashing flurries. Nothing substantial landed, but Navarro’s volume allowed him to control the opening stanza.

Simmons, a 33-year-old southpaw from Flint, Michigan, seized control in the second round by maintaining range with his jab and leaning on his better hand speed. His combination punching kept him ahead for the remainder of the fight as Navarro, 26, struggled to sustain any offense even when he was able to pressure and get Simmons to the ropes or in a corner.

Pedro Taduran overcame a spirited effort from Brandon Moreno to retain his IBF 105-pound title by unanimous decision in the main event of the prelims card on Wynn Records Network.

Romero turned in a puzzling 120-108 scorecard, while Lopez and Sanchez had it far closer at 115-113. Taduran’s close victory marked his fourth successful title defense.

Taduran (21-4-1, 14 KOs), The Ring’s No. 1 contender at strawweight, controlled the fight early on with his aggression and straight left hand. Moreno (16-1, 5 KOs) took control from the Filipino southpaw in the middle rounds with his movement, jab and straight right hand. The 33-year-old Spaniard, who was fighting outside of his home country for the first time, also had success smothering Taduran’s offense on the inside as he closed the gap.

With the fight appearing to be up for grabs in the championship rounds, Taduran, 30, took back control with his persistent pressure, and he continued to find a home for his straight left.