Yohnny Perez outslugged Joseph Agbeko to win a unanimous decision and take Agbeko’s bantamweight belt in a thrilling fight Saturday in Las Vegas.

Perez (20-0, 14 knockouts) fought Abeko’s fight – toe-to-toe brawling – and it paid off, as the Colombian outpointed the Ghanian 116-111, 117-110 and 117-110 to win his first major belt at 30 years old.

The fighters exchanged punches at a furious rate from beginning to end but neither fighter was seriously hurt by any of them. Agbeko (27-2, 22 KOs) went down in the 10th round but it was the result of an accidental head butt followed by a body shot.

Perez was cut above his left eye early in the fight by a butt but it was never a factor.

Agbeko was coming off a sensational victory over Vic Darcninyan in July and had visions of climbing into the pound-for-pound rankings. The best he can hope for now is a rematch, which Perez said he would give him.