Junior welterweight Breyon Gorham earned a main-event-worthy victory over a brave Luis Feliciano in the 10-round co-main event to Andreas Katzourakis vs. Roberto Cruz at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston.

Gorham, fighting in his hometown, was introduced to raucous cheers. He had the flashier record — now 19-0 (15 KOs) to Feliciano’s 17-3 (8 KOs) — and Feliciano had lost his last two fights, the latter a KO loss to Mykquan Williams that led to 13 months of inactivity. The numbers suggested Gorham was primed to crush Feliciano.

But Feliciano was courageous and durable, throwing hard jabs and counters, and standing up to the best of Gorham’s offense.

In the end, Gorham’s power right hand was the offensive differentiator, scoring the fight’s lone knockdown. He also proved deceptively slick on the defense, avoiding taking many flush punches even as he fought frequently on the front foot.

Gorham looked a patient but ominous force in the opening round. He landed solid body shots to each flank in the opening round, as well as right hands that raised swelling under Feliciano’s eye.

In the second round, Feliciano landed a hard right hook, but Gorham appeared unaffected. Gorham split Feliciano’s guard with a straight right that forced Feliciano back two steps.

WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson was in attendance, and joined the commentary team for the fight. He praised Gorham’s “power, inside game, and underrated defense,” and encouraged him to feint more. (Stevenson also said his frequently injured hands are “getting better.”)

Feliciano landed a sharp left hook in the third round. But Gorham was finding a home for more of the telling blows, cracking rights across Feliciano’s jaw.

Stevenson gave his assessment of the fight, and what might as well have been a critique of the undercard: “I think the matchmaking is beautiful. It’s making [Gorham] work for it. It’s not just an easy fight, easy night, easy knockout. Guys don’t get better like that.”

Feliciano gained confidence in the fourth and fifth, slipping and countering accurately. Gorham’s most effective work was to the body. Feliciano, unimpressed, gestured at Gorham to come at him.

Gorham landed a clean, smooth right hand in the sixth, throwing as effortlessly as he might a baseball, sending sweat bursting off Feliciano’s head. The fighters traded viciously and Feliciano slipped to the ground — not an official knockdown, but Gorham reacted as if it was, fighting with the poised menace of the early rounds.

After a quiet seventh, Feliciano leapt forward into a right hook in the eighth. He was too reckless. Gorham swept out of the way and fired a quick, compact counter right that dropped Feliciano and sent him sliding into the bottom of the ropes. Feliciano rose quickly and seemed fine, but the damage was done. Gorham landed another flush counter right in the dying seconds of the round.

“This kid is the future,” Stevenson announced of Gorham, 24.

Feliciano admirably fought in pursuit of a knockout in the 10th round, even landing his share of hard shots. But Gorham took them well and gave as good as he got.

Though the scores of 97-92, 98-91, and 99-90 didn’t do justice to Feliciano’s effort, Gorham certainly deserved the victory.

“I knew he was tough,” Gorham said after the fight. “I was telling my team, ‘I’m not taking him lightly.’”

Gorham left those hoping to see him again soon with good news: “ten weeks, we back in the ring.”