LAS VEGAS – Daniel Blanco won by wide distances on all three scorecards Saturday afternoon, but the undefeated super middleweight prospect left T-Mobile Arena more tested than when he entered it.

Juan Barajas traded with Blanco in the center of the ring for much of their entertaining eight-rounder on the David Benavidez-David Morrell Jr. undercard. Neither fighter was badly hurt during what was a back-and-forth fight contested in a largely empty venue.

Milwaukee’s Blanco, who is trained by Jose Benavidez Sr., won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73. He improved to 12-0 (5 KOs), but Blanco went the distance for the fifth time in his past six fights.

Barajas, of Victorville, California, is 0-2-1 in his past three bouts. He lost for the first time as a pro (11-1-2, 7 KOs).

In the bout before Blanco’s win, Las Vegas-based super middleweight prospect John Easter remained undefeated thanks to a six-round, unanimous-decision win over Joseph Aguilar.

Easter (8-0, 7 KOs), who went the distance for the first time as a pro, won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55. Aguilar (6-3-1, 3 KOs), of Portland, Oregon, lost a second straight six-rounder by unanimous decision.

Earlier Saturday, onetime welterweight title challenger Jose Benavidez Jr. defeated Danny Rosenberger by fifth-round technical knockout.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:39 of the fifth round. Benavidez (29-3-1, 20 KOs), David’s older brother, fought for the first time since former WBC middleweight and IBF junior middleweight champ Jermall Charlo beat him by unanimous decision in a 10-rounder on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade undercard in November 2023 at nearby Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort Casino.

Rosenberger, of Youngstown, Ohio, fell to 20-10-4 (10 KOs, 1 NC). The 34-year-old veteran has been stopped in seven of his past eight fights.

Keith Idec is a staff writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.