By Jake Donovan
Pedro Guevara was in need of a victory, while younger brother Alberto simply needed to just maintain his winning ways.
Both saw their hands raised by night's end, though securing their latest wins by vastly different means of success Saturday evening in Mazatlan, Mexico.
Older brother Pedro emerged victorious in his first fight since losing his title last fall, scoring a 10-round decision over Philippines' Jether Oliva. Scores were 100-91 across the board.
Alberto had a much rougher night at the office, forced to fend off a fiery attack from Philippines' Edward Mansito to emerge by majority decision.
For the elder Guevara, it was simply a matter of returning to what he does best. The bout was his first since suffering a questionable split decision loss to Yu Kimura last November on the road in Japan. The defeat ranked among the biggest upsets of 2015 as well as one of the most notable robberies.
Saturday's performance was nowhere close to carrying similar time capsule elements, but for Guevara can at least provide the springboard for a return to the title stage. The difference in class was evident from the opening bell, as the ex-champ's hand speed and skill level was too much for Oliva (23-5-2, 11KOs), who has now lost three of his last four starts.
Guevara improves to 27-2-1 (17KOs) with the win. His last three victories have all come at home, his previous two coming in separate title defenses of the title he claimed in a thrilling 7th round knockout of Akira Yaegashi in Dec. '14.
The next line of business - if Guevara gets his way - is a possible rematch no matter who comes out ahead in the March 4 clash between Kimura and Ganigan Lopez. Guevera outpointed Lopez in a mandatory title defense last July before conceding the title four months later.
While older brother seems to be back to his old ways, the younger Guevara is on the verge of hitting a career wall. The two-time bantamweight title challenger has now struggled in each of his past two starts.
On the heels of a split decision win over Arturo Santos last December, Alberto Guevara found himself in trouble early. Mansito enjoyed a considerable advantage in punching power, forcing Guevara to rethink his pre-fight game plan and instead turn a fight into a boxing match.
He managed just that, turning the tide in the second half of the bout to ultimately surge ahead on two of the three scorecards.
One judge had it 76-76, while Guevara prevailed by scores of 77-75 and 78-75 on the other two cards to advance to 24-2 (9KOs). His lone two losses came in title fights, both of which represent his only career fights outside of Mexico. He dropped a 12-round decision to then-bantamweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz in Dec. '12, then suffered a 9th round knockout to divisional-best Shinsuke Yamanaka in Nov. '13.
Mansito falls to 13-4-2 (7KOs), having dropped three straight. The Pinoy boxer was originally slated to face unbeaten American southpaw Jessie Magdaleno on this same evening in Mexico, but was enticed to instead take this fight.
Both bouts aired on Televisa in Mexico.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox