By Jake Donovan

His ring moniker and costume aside, Jose 'Wonder Boy' Lopez is looking less and less like a super hero these days. 

Fighting for the first time since his wild and controversial eight-round war with Roberto Castañeda last summer, Lopez was held to an eight-round draw by comebacking Josean Figueroa in their Univision headliner Saturday evening in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Matching scores of 76-76 on two cards overruled an absurd 79-73 tally in favor of Lopez for the first main event of Promociones Miguel Cotto's inaugural 'Boxeo Al Maximo' series. 

Still one month shy of his 21st birthday, Lopez insisted all through camp and during fight week that he has matured since his close call with Castañeda last August. Down four times in the opening round of their slugfest, Lopez relied purely on his own punching power to come back and eventually snatch a victory, claiming to have learned from the mistakes made in that fight as he now attempts to transition from prospect to contender.

The unbeaten local favorite had the right idea, offering a disciplined performance and not relying on knockout power to get the job done. The only issue was that he was too complacent for much of the night, while Figueroa - who hadn't fought in more than two years and whose last win came three years ago almost to the day - was prepared to play the role of aggressor. 

It made for a friendly clash of styles and an entertaining night for the fans. However, it resulted in the second straight close call for Lopez, who - while still unbeaten - no longer boasts a perfect record as his ring mark moves to 15-0-1 (11KOs); Figueroa is now 8-3-1 (7KOs).  

In the co-feature, Alex De Jesus returned to action with a six round unanimous decision over compatriot Javier Garcia in a junior welterweight fight. De Jesus, who spent several years in prison for a case of domestic violence, improved to 21-1, 13 KO's.

The card was the first of a planned monthly series on Univision, with shows to be presented by Cotto's promotional company and Hector Soto's H2 Promotions.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of krikya360.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox