But when the dust settled, Katzourakis emerged with a unanimous decision victory in a battle of unbeaten fighters at Meta Apex Center in Las Vegas in the main card opener of Zuffa Boxing 06 on Paramount+.

Judges Steve Weisfeld scored it 99-91, Max DeLuca had it 97-93, and Cory Santos scored it 96-94.

Serhii Bohachuk faces Shane Mosley Jr. in a 10-round middleweight bout in the main event, while Julian Rodriguez vs James Perella square off in a 10-round welterweight bout in the co-feature.

Katzourakis (17-0, 11 KOs) and Rodriguez (16-1, 8 KOs) wasted little time feeling each other out in the opening round. They fought in close quarters from the first round, and very little separated them physically and in terms of the work they did, which made some rounds difficult to score.

Katzourakis appeared to have the upper hand in the early stages, as he pushed Rodriguez around, landed clean, hard shots, and was the busier fighter. Rodriguez had his moments, though, as he effectively punched through Katzourakis’ guard.

As the fight progressed, Katzourakis’ work rate slowed. That allowed Rodriguez to make a run and do some of his best work in the later rounds, landing the cleaner and more effective shots.

With the fight seemingly still up for grabs, the pattern continued with both fighters giving as good as they got as they looked to put their stamp on the bout. Ultimately, Katzourakis’ pressure and work rate helped him earn one of the most impressive wins of his career.

In other preliminary bouts:

8 rounds, light heavyweight

Mahmutovic (9-1-1, 6 KOs) overcame an early knockdown to upset the previously unbeaten Monny (9-1, 3 KOs). Monny dropped Mahmutovic with an overhand right in the second round. Mahmutovic recovered and thwarted Monny’s aggression and pressure by outboxing him in the final six rounds.

8 rounds, lightweight

A late knockdown proved to be the difference for Ortiz (13-0-2, 9 KOs) against the previously unbeaten Viloria (12-1, 8 KOs). Late in the seventh round, Ortiz connected with a looping right hand that sent Viloria to the canvas for the first time in his career. Viloria’s aggression gave him the upper hand early, while Ortiz fought his way back into the fight in the second half to earn the upset victory in his U.S. debut.

8 rounds, heavyweight

Vanhouter (12-0, 9 KOs) hurt Murphy with a left hook to the body before unleashing a flurry of punches in the corner that caused referee Tony Weeks to stop the fight. The stoppage win was Vanhouter’s sixth in a row. Murphy (18-2, 14 KOs) entered the bout on a seven-fight win streak.

6 rounds, bantamweight

6 rounds, light heavyweight