By Francisco Salazar

He may not have won by knockout in the first round, but welterweight contender Roberto Arriaza will take a decision win any day.

After notching three consecutive opening round knockout victories, Arriaza was taken the distance by fringe contender Juan Ruiz, winning a unanimous decision over 10 rounds Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California.

Arriaza, who is originally from Masaya, Nicaragua and now lives and trains in the Los Angeles area, knocked out Sammy Valentin in 20 seconds of the opening round in his last bout on Mar. 16. Instead of coming out aggressively as he did in the Valentin bout, Arriaza fought at a more measured pace against Ruiz.

The 28-year-old Arriaza (17-0, 13 knockouts) mostly walked Ruiz down during the first half of the fight. Ruiz, who was knocked out by prospect Alexander Besputin, would jab or throw a one-two combination to keep Arriaza honest.

Arriaza had his best round during the seventh frame, becoming more aggressive and assertive and forcing Ruiz to fight off the ropes. Ruiz had his moments during the final two rounds of the fight, but nothing where his offense changed the course of the fight.

Scores were 99-91, 98-92, and 97-93 for Arriaza.

Ruiz (20-2, 12 KOs), who is originally from Venezuela and now resides in San Diego, has dropped his last two bouts.

Fringe featherweight contender Erick Ituarte won a hard-fought eight round unanimous decision over former world bantamweight title challenger Carlos Carlson.

Carlson (22-4, 13 KOs), who challenged and lost to then-WBC bantamweight titleholder Shinsuke Yamanaka on Mar. 2 of last year, was the aggressor throughout most of the fight.

Ituarte was the more effective fighter, especially in the second half of the fight. Ituarte, who resides in nearby Santa Ana, consistently landing the more telling blows, especially during the final two rounds over a tiring Carlson.

Scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 for Ituarte, who improves to 20-1-1, 3 KOs. 

Junior lightweight prospect Michael Dutchover (9-0, 6 KOs) dropped Mike Fowler twice before the fight was stopped in round three.

Dutchover, who is co-promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing, dropped Fowler with a right hand to the body with less than a minute left in round two. Dutchover dropped Fowler (6-15, 2 KOs) again in round three, this time with a left hook to the body. After getting up, Fowler did not look he wanted to continue, prompting referee Eddie Hernandez to stop the fight at 1:19.

Bantamweight Mario Hernandez remained unbeaten, knocking out Nery Garcia (1-5) at 2:26 of the third round.

Junior lightweight Ruben Torres (5-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Sergio Gonzalez (0-2) at 2:15 of the third round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for krikya360.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing