Gabriel Flores Jr. kept his career afloat in dramatic fashion.

The resurgent lightweight scored two knockdowns en route to a ten-round, unanimous decision over Jose Arellano. Scores were 95-93, 98-90 and 99-89 for Flores in their ProBox TV-aired main event Wednesday evening from Chicken Ranch Casino Resort in Jamestown, California.

The night jumped off to a flying start for the locally-bred Flores, who was credited with a knockdown in the first 15 seconds of the fight. A left hook caught Arellano to where only the ropes held him up. Referee Michael Margado accurately ruled him down as a result.

Arellano not only overcame the sequence but came storming back to control the action over the next few rounds.

Flores—who hails from nearby Stockton—moved and used every inch of the ring, while Arellano served as the aggressor. The visiting boxer from Aurora, Colorado by way of Chihuahua, Mexico punched in combination, against which Flores struggled to adjust.

The moments where Flores enjoyed his greatest success came when he remembered to not only throw punches behind his jab, but actually lead with the stick. It led to considerable success in round seven, but Arellano refused to back down.

Arellano attacked with a level of activity against which Flores struggled to keep at bay. Flores continued to use lateral movement, though there was concern in his corner that the fight was slipping away on the scorecards.

On the other side of the ring, nothing was taken for granted by Arellano and his team. The instructions were to remain aggressive and even go for the knockout.

Instead, it was Flores who came out swinging in the tenth and final round. A check left hook produced the bout's second knockdown seconds into the final frame. Arellano beat the count but the ensuing attack slowed his offense to a crawl.

Flores continued to land power punches but also picked his shots rather than go for broke. The jab set up right hands from long range, which Arellano (11-3, 6 KOs) absorbed but for which he no longer had a response.

Arellano has now suffered all three career defeats within his last four fights.

It turned out that Flores already had the fight in the bag by that point, at least in the eyes of two judges who clearly favored the local fighter's movement.

Flores (26-2, 8 KOs) won his fifth straight fight, all since he was released by Top Rank in 2022. Lopsided defeats to Luis Alberto Lopez and Giovanni Cabrera in a ten-month span left his career in a tailspin, though he is now back on the right track.

The remaining question, however, is whether the best is yet to come or if Flores has already hit his career ceiling.