NEWARK, New Jersey — Brandun Lee looked like a boxer who hadn't fought in almost 11 months Saturday night.

The unbeaten junior welterweight won his eight-round fight against Elias Damian Araujo relatively easily. The heavily favored Lee worked well off his jab and barely got hit, but he admitted his timing was off after defeating Araujo by unanimous decision on the Vito Mielnicki-Kamil Gardzielik undercard at Prudential Center.

Lee (30-0, 23 KOs), of Irvine, California, shut out Araujo on all three scorecards, 80-72 apiece.

While pleased that he finally got back into the ring, Lee told The Ring after recording his 30th victory that he realized during his recently completed training camp that he needs to become a full-fledged welterweight for his next fight. That’s why Lee believes he hasn’t recorded a knockout in any of his last three fights.

"It felt different," Lee told The Ring of his performance against Araujo. "I haven't been in the ring in a while. I'm just glad to fight again. I’m glad to make it to 30-0. You know, I think I could’ve stopped him, but the weight cut played a factor in it. I think this is my last fight at [140]. I’m going up to 147."

Lee, 26, weighed in at 143 pounds for his victory over Araujo, who weighed 142.

Argentina’s Araujo (22-6, 9 KOs) is 2-5 in his past seven fights, including a fifth-round technical knockout defeat to Raymond Muratalla in November 2021 at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

Lee took an extended break from boxing after his eight-round points win over Colombia’s Juan Anacona (13-1, 6 KOs) last July 27 at O2 Arena in London to concentrate on earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He graduated from Cal State-San Bernardino on May 16.

Before Lee ended his long layoff Saturday night, junior middleweight prospect Dwyke Flemmings overwhelmed Demian Fernandez in the first round of a fight scheduled for eight rounds.

Flemmings (11-0, 10 KOs), from nearby Paterson, dropped Argentina’s Fernandez three times in the first round. Referee Harvey Dock stopped their bout 2:09 into the opening round, as soon as Fernandez (15-7, 5 KOs) went down for the third time.

In the bout prior to Flemmings remaining undefeated, Lisandra Contreras knocked Montana Weems to the canvas in the first round and shut her out by the same score, 40-35, on all three cards to win their four-rounder by unanimous decision.

Contreras, of Passaic, New Jersey, won in her pro debut. Weems, of Rogersville, Tennessee, slipped to 1-1.