Former three-time welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito tags Ramon Alvarez with a right en route to a 10-round split decision on Aug. 13, 2016, in Baja California, Mexico. Photo by German Villasenor

Antonio Margarito is nowhere near the fighter he was a decade ago, however the former three-time welterweight titleholder was able to turn back the clock enough to grind out a 10-round split decision victory over Ramon Alvarez at the Centro de Convenciones in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico, on Saturday.

With the victory, Margarito, now campaigning at junior middleweight, improves to 40-8 (27 knockouts). Alvarez drops to 23-5-2 (15 KOs).

This was Margarito’s second fight (and victory) since returning from a four-year hiatus from boxing, which followed surgeries to repair a fractured orbital bone below his left eye and a detached retina in his right eye.

Both injuries were sustained in a one-sided points defeat to Manny Pacquiao in November 2010 and were exasperated in a TKO stoppage loss to Miguel Cotto the following year.

Margarito lost the first two rounds against Alvarez, but began to press the action in Round 3. His aggression paid off, as he was able to get into punching range and connect repeatedly with right hands to the head.

As the bout progressed, Margarito’s punch output and confidence continued to grow. By the midway point, Alvarez looked sluggish and fought off the back foot.

With momentum on his side, Margarito was able to drop Alvarez midway through the eighth, courtesy of a left hook to the head.

However, not only did Alvarez make it out of the round, he mounted his own offense during the final six minutes. Sensing he was down on the scorecards, and with younger brother Canelo Alvarez imploring him from ringside, the gutsy underdog let his hands go.

Alvarez scored repeatedly in the 10th, but his brave late-round assault was to no avail. One judge scored the bout 95-94 in his favor, while the other two scored it 97-92 for Margarito.

In the opening bout of the “beIN Sports en Espanol” broadcast, junior welterweight Pedro Campa (22-0, 14 KOs) stopped David Bency in the seventh round.

Campa clipped Bency (10-6-1, 4 KOs) with a right uppercut, which sent him reeling backwards. Bency turned his back, which prompted the referee to stop the fight.

Welterweight Jaime Munguia (17-0, 14 KOs) scored his eighth consecutive victory, stopping Fernando Montiel (7-3, 3 KOs) in the second round.

Hard-hitting junior featherweight Emanuel Navarrete (15-1, 13 KOs) won a 10-round unanimous decision Eleazar Valenzuela (12-5-2, 10 KOs), who has now lost his last three bouts.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing