Roman Gonzalez defended his RING and WBC flyweight titles with a near-shutout unanimous decision over very game challenger McWilliams Arroyo on Saturday night at The Forum in Inglewood, California, but that doesn’t tell the full story of a tougher-than-expected night for the Nicaraguan champion.

Gonzalez (45-0, 38 knockouts) was introduced amid a huge swell of applause from the crowd, evidence that few of them thought it would take so long to get what they wanted.

Arroyo’s most succesfful punch in the opening rounds was his left hook and he managed to land a few good ones, including body shots and a clipping punch upstairs in Round 3. But Gonzalez quickly picked his way through the Puerto Rican’s defense and the power difference was evident as Gonzalez moved Arroyo back with his punches but largely remained immobile whenever tagged.

Arroyo pushed back harder from Round 5 onward, even while moving in reverse, keeping Gonzalez busy with a frustrating level of activity, but Gonzalez continued to press forward and began to introduce more powerful, eye-catching punches into his combinations.

Round 11 ended with a terrific exchange and the very determined Arroyo fought hard until the final bell but looked a bit ragged from the experience of absorbing Gonzalez’s punches. Scores were 119-109, 119-109 and 120-108.