SAN DIEGO – Unbeaten junior lightweight contender Andres Cortes entered the night as the front-runner to meet the winner of the night’s main event pitting WBO titleholder Emanuel Navarrete versus Charly Suarez.

Ten grueling rounds were accompanied by an ongoing chorus of boos and a chant of “This is boring!” It now appears Cortes – even in victory – will be on the outside looking in.

“He’s agony,” one fight official intoned during Cortes’ jab-heavy, soft-handed showing against Spain’s Salvador Jimenez, now 14-2-1 (6 KOs), Saturday night at Pechanga Arena.

After Cortes won by scores of 100-90 (twice) and 99-91, another official chimed in that he should change his last name to “Cortezzzz.”

Cortes, 23-0 (12 KOs), hadn’t fought since June after suffering a training camp injury in September that prevented him from fighting Suarez, of the Philippines, in the late fall.

Cortes showed up in less-than-ripped shape and floundered in his attempts to land hurtful blows on Jimenez, who stayed in front of the WBC’s No. 9-rated and WBO No. 11-rated contender, going the distance and appearing to motion at the final bell that Cortes is not all that.

Also on the undercard:

Like Navarrete, welterweight Giovani Santillan was intent to rinse out the distaste of the last time he fought in the Pechanga Arena ring – a 10th-round knockout loss to current WBO champion Brian Norman Jnr in May 2024.

Santillan returned with a first-round knockout victory in Arizona in December and was assigned Angel Beltran of Mexicali, Mexico, winning a unanimous decision by three 97-93 scorecards

“San Diego – it’s exciting fighting here. I could feel everyone. It’s special,” Santillan said. “I needed to get this done here – exactly 12 months after that loss.”

At 33, Santillan’s urgency to distinguish himself beyond a possible gatekeeper role is stark considering his No. 13 spot in both the WBC and WBO rankings.

He felt he did so.

“We’ve made some changes in camp, getting my weight down, and I felt more energy,” he said.

Beltran banked on his activity while Santillan invested in landing the more defining punches through four tightly contested rounds. The totality of Santillan’s pressure began to take effect in the fifth as Beltran displayed signs of slowing by losing the exchanges.

Two head-jarring lefts in the sixth from the southpaw Santillan widened the difference, making it clear he would atone for the most recent homecoming, although Beltran landed a right hand that bloodied Santillan’s nose in the seventh.

Santillan’s power lefts and uppercuts seized back control for him in the eighth, and he weakened Beltran in the final minute of the 10th with a low blow that went unpenalized.

Instead of settling into a lesser role, Santillan said he’s in pursuit of a rematch with Georgia’s Norman – on his turf this time – while also pressing for a bout with new WBA secondary welterweight titleholder Rolly Romero.

“There’s a lot of money and a lot going on in this division. I’d like to get one of those big fights,” Santillan said. “Romero’s got an exciting style. Matching that with mine, that fight would do very well.” 

Women’s junior bantamweight Perla Bazaldua of South Central Los Angeles made her Top Rank debut by cruising to a unanimous decision  triumph over St. Louis’ Mona Ward by three 40-36 scores.

Bazaldua, 2-0 (1 KO), began to impose her will in the second with effective body shots and stinging head blows that backed up Ward, 0-2.

Continuing a theme on the card of fighters not so far removed from upset losses, lightweight Alan “Kid Kansas” Garcia made his second appearance since his stunning knockout loss to journeyman Ricardo Fernandez on September 20.

Against Mexico’s Cristian Medina, Garcia improved to 16-1 (11 KOs) thanks to three 79-73 scorecards.

More sculpted since the Fernandez loss, Garcia, 22, remained forceful before getting hurt by Medina’s punches in the second, forcing him to endure drama, which Garcia did by briefly switching to a southpaw stance and letting loose with heavy punches – many to the body.

The blows discouraged Medina, but then the Mexico fighter wobbled Garcia with an uppercut to the chin to close the fifth and Garcia had to engage in holding in the sixth to recover from additional pressure.

A cut opened on Medina’s left eyebrow in the seventh and he won rich applause, urging on the action by waving his arms at Garcia. Happy to oblige, Garcia further roughed up Medina in the eighth and showed he’s more prepared for the adversity.

The card opened with top 15-ranked junior featherweight Sebastian Hernandez, 20-0 (18 KOs), of Tijuana, Mexico, defeating veteran Azat Hovhannisyan, 21-6 (17 KOs), by unanimous decision with three scorecards of 98-91.

Hernandez, 24, entered the night ranked No. 10 in the WBC, No. 11 in the WBA and No. 14 in the IBF behind undisputed champion Naoya Inoue. He started deliberately before pounding Hovhannisyan with body shots in the second, shrugging off late-round head combinations before belting the 36-year-old with straight rights to the head in the third.

Hernandez played it smart, letting the older man expend energy, and then when Hovhannisyan looked to take a breather, Hernandez swarmed with rocking body and head shots, backing up the veteran in the fifth.

Nicknamed “Crazy A,” Hozhannisyan failed to hold during the abuse as the bout turned fully to Hernandez’s way. In the sixth, Hernandez’s blows likened to sledgehammers, punishing the fading elder statesman.

Backed to the ropes in the seventh, Hovhannisyan became a punching bag and seemed to be ripe for a stoppage before applying a rope-a-dope tactic by rallying with a steady combination that left the fatiguing Hernandez reeling on the ropes near his corner.

Hernandez refreshed between rounds to batter Hovhannisyan in the eighth, the toll leaving him unsteady on his feet as the bell rang. Hovhannisyan was reduced to excessive holding to calm the flurries in the ninth, and the referee deducted one point from him.