Duke Ragan was met with adversity for the first time as a pro after having never previously lost a round.

The unbeaten featherweight—who claimed an Olympic silver medal for the U.S. last summer in Tokyo—overcame a rocky moment in the second round to outpoint D’Angelo Fuentes in their battle of undefeated prospects. Judges Max Deluca (58-56), Chris Migliore (58-56) and David Sutherland (59-55) all ruled in favor of Cincinnati’s Ragan (7-0, 1KO) in their ESPN+ streamed bout Saturday evening at Resorts World Casino in Las Vegas.

The bout began as has always been the case for Ragan, boxing smartly and beating Fuentes to the punch on the occasions when the action came at close quarters.

Ragan took on a more aggressive approach in round two, meeting Fuentes at center ring and working left hooks to the body. He nearly paid the price for jumping out of his comfort zone, as a counter left hook by Fuentes left the U.S. Olympian briefly on unsteady legs. Ragan quickly recovered, regaining control of the fight but not before catching a lecture from head trainer Kay Koroma to use his ring smarts.

The ensuing rounds saw Ragan fight behind a stiff jab, following with right hands and forcing Fuentes to follow him around the ring. Fuentes did his best to make it an inside fight, though Ragan was successful even in those moments particularly with his counter left hook downstairs.

Fuentes had his moments of success in round five, beginning with a right hand that caught the attention of Ragan. The Puerto Rican prospect from Coconut Creek, Florida sifted through a sea of jabs from Ragan to connect with a counter left hook upstairs before targeting Ragan’s body. Ragan maintained his composure, working his one-two and closing the round strong with combination punching and slick defense.

Ragan and Fuentes fought toe-to-toe for much of the final minute of the fight. Ragan was constantly quicker to the draw, proving the difference between a victory and a majority draw in the end.

Ragan improves to 7-0 (1KO) with the win. Fuentes falls to 7-1 (5KOs) with the loss, though earned plenty of respect with the strong showing in his first real step up in competition.

The win was the third of the year for Ragan, all coming after losing his father to Covid this past February. The fight marked his third time in seven pro fights going the six round distance, though the first time where he lost a round on any scorecard.

Headlining the show, former lineal and unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (16-1, 12KOs) faces Mexico’s Pedro Campa in a scheduled ten-round junior welterweight bout. Lopez fights for the first time since losing his championship to George Kambosos Jr. via split decision last November 27 in New York City, as he now campaigns in the 140-pound division.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox