ORLANDO – Lucas Bahdi had to earn it, but he emerged victorious in the toughest test of his career, defeating Roger Gutierrez by a unanimous decision in a WBA lightweight title eliminator on the Yankiel Rivera-Angelino Codova card Saturday at Caribe Royale Orlando.

Dave De Jonge had it 117-110, while Alex Levin had it 116-111 and James Ged O'Connor scored it 115-112.

Many of the rounds were tough to score with not much action to separate the two and felt closer than Levin and Jonge’s scorecards.

The biggest moment of the fight came at the very end of the sixth round when Bahdi (20-0, 15 KOs), of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, dropped Gutierrez with a counter straight right hand. Gutierrez (29-7-1, 22 KOs) was badly hurt, but the bell saved the former junior lightweight champion from Maracaibo, Venezuela.

After Bahdi strung together some good rounds following the knockdown, Gutierrez got back into the fight in the ninth round, utilizing his height and reach advantage and consistently finding a home for his straight right hand in the final stretch of the fight.

Ultimately, Bahdi’s power shots were enough to land him the best win of his career and put him on the doorstep of a world title shot.