Abraham Nova gave himself just the type of 29th birthday present he needed Saturday night.

Nova responded to his first defeat, a fifth-round knockout loss to Robeisy Ramirez nearly seven months ago, by beating Adam Lopez in their 10-round, 130-pound fight on the Efe Ajagba-Stephan Shaw undercard at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Nova (22-1, 15 KOs) produced two knockdowns, one in the fifth round and another in the sixth round, and topped Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs, 1 NC) by unanimous decision.

Judges John McKaie (97-91), Eric Marlinski (98-90) and Don Trella (98-90) all credited Nova for a convincing victory.

Nova, of Albany, New York, moved back up to the junior lightweight division for this fight. Ramirez (11-1, 7 KOs), a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba, dropped Nova and knocked him out in the fifth round of a 10-round featherweight fight June 18 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York.

Lopez, of Glendale, California, suffered his first three professional losses against current or former world champions in Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs), Oscar Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) and Isaac Dogboe (24-2, 15 KOs).

Nova appeared fatigued in the 10th and final round, but Lopez couldn’t hurt him.

Nova nailed Lopez with a counter left hook 1:10 into the 10th and final round. Lopez pressured him later in the 10th round, but Nova withstood Lopez’s attack and threw hard punches of his own.

Lopez appeared to inadvertently head-butt Nova twice in the final minute of their bout, but referee Mark Nelson didn’t appear to see either infraction.

Lopez landed a right hand in an exchange, but Nova took it well with less than 20 seconds to go in the ninth round.

Nova was the aggressor again for most of the eighth round. When Nova began backing up, Lopez drilled him with a right hand that connected with just over 50 seconds on the clock in the eighth round.

Lopez was less willing to engage during the seventh round after suffering knockdowns in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Another right-left combination by Nova buzzed Lopez 35 seconds into the sixth round. Lopez later tried to hold Nova, but he eventually fell to the canvas.

Nelson counted that as the second knockdown for Nova in as many rounds. Lopez protested Nelson’s call because he felt Nova pushed him to the canvas.

Nevertheless, Nova scored a knockdown apiece in the fifth and sixth rounds.

A right-left combination by Nova knocked Lopez flat on his back with 1:25 remaining in the fifth round. Lopez easily beat the count, but he mostly moved away from Nova as he spent the rest of the fifth round trying to recover.

Back-to-back right hands by Nova landed with just under 50 seconds to go in the fourth round. A previous Nova right hand connected 30 seconds into the fourth round.

Lopez landed a left hook and swiftly moved out of Nova’s punching range with under 10 seconds on the clock in the third round.

Lopez snapped back Nova’s head with a right hand that connected with just over two minutes remaining in the third round. Several seconds earlier, Lopez landed two lefts to Nova’s body.

Lopez and Nova landed right hands as they traded punches in the final minute of the second round. Nova nailed Lopez with a left hook in an exchange just after the midway mark of the second round.

Nova’s right hand, which landed with just over 1:15 on the clock, was the flashiest shot of the first round.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.