Antonio Margarito ended his four-plus-year retirement in March with a unanimous-decision victory over Jorge Paez Jr., and he followed that win up with a controversial split-decision triumph over Ramon Alvarez on Saturday night in Baja California, Mexico.
According to BoxingScene.com, one judge scored the fight 95-94 for Alvarez, while two scored it 97-92 for Margarito.
Margarito is now the owner of the WBO Continental Super Welterweight Championship belt by virtue of the win, per BoxingScene.com. He also improved to 40-8-0 in his career thanks to the victorious effort against the 30-year-old.
Margarito took an extended hiatus following a unanimous-decision loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2010 and a 2011 defeat at the hands of Miguel Cotto, but he returned to the ring and withstood a knockdown by Paez to come back and secure a victory that jump-started a potential resurgence.
While the 38-year-old talked a big game in advance of his showdown against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's older brother, he backed it up in a big way Saturday.
"In May [against Jorge Paez Jr.] we were working on explosiveness and speed," Margarito said before Saturday's bout, per BoxingScene.com's Miguel Rivera. "I feel much better than I was in my camp before Paez Jr. I'll win, and I'll do my job."
Now that he's established himself since returning to the ring, Margarito will presumably be on the lookout for a fight against an opponent of a grander stature.
According to Rivera, Margarito's "ultimate goal" is to land such a fight, while Canelo Alvarez is reportedly "at the top of his list."
Margarito would be an overwhelming underdog against the 26-year-old stud, but a meeting between the old and new guards would make for compelling television a few months down the line.