World-ranked flyweight contender Joselito Velazquez overcame an ungodly amount of headbutts and three cuts near his eyes to score a gruesome unanimous decision win against Adolfo Castillo on Saturday in Cancun, Mexico.

Despite dealing with waves of adversity, Velazquez (21-1-1, 13 KOs) remained calm and comfortable under pressure to outbox the cagey Castillo (12-5-2, 7 KOs) dominantly throughout the 10-round contest.

Judges scored the junior bantamweight bout for Velazquez via scores of 100-89, 100-89, and 97-92. Velazquez outlanded Castillo 156 to 102.

The Castillo-caused fouls were the narrative of the fight from the first round, as a clash of heads created a cut near the outer edge of Velazquez's right eyebrow. Another clash of heads occurred in the second, but there wasn't a cut. Instead, it was the left eye of Castillo that showed some swelling.

In the third round, Velazquez knocked out Castillo's mouthpiece, and action was immediately halted by referee Celestino Castro who inserted it back in. Velazquez mounted a serious attack after the break but was again halted by the heady Castillo, who caused another clash, and a gnarly cut, this time in between the eyebrows of Velazquez. Castro called a timeout to warn Castillo and deducted a point before the start of the fourth round.

Velazquez complained of yet another headbutt in the fourth round, but despite the series of fouls he was controlling the clash against Castillo, as the cuts were under control.

Yet another clash of heads ensued in the sixth round and Velazquez turned away in frustration. But the action continued.

A right hand from Castillo opened a cut near Velazquez's left eye in the seventh round.

Velazquez, however, remained undeterred and closed the show in furious fashion, battering Castillo from pillar to post by throwing and landing a fight-high 22 of 81 shots, and by the end of the bout, Velazquez got revenge by bloodying Castillo as well.

Velazquez, a 31-year-old 2016 Mexican Olympian, is now riding a five-fight winning streak since suffering the lone loss of his career to Cristofer Rosales via unanimous decision in 2022.

Velazquez is ranked No. 5 by the WBO, No. 7 by the WBC, and No. 12 by the IBF at 112 pounds.

Manouk Akopyan is a lead writer for The Ring. He can be reached on X and Instagram @ManoukAkopyan.