Juan Manuel Marquez has defeated Mike Alvarado on points in their WBO welterweight eliminator in California.
The Mexican, who is now expected to face Manny Pacquiao for the fifth time, was awarded an unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout 119-109, 117-109 and 117-109 respectively.
The 40-year-old dominated the first half of the encounter, and he looked on course for a comfortable victory when he dropped Alvarado in the eighth round.
The American scored his own knockdown in the ninth, but he failed to capitalise and Marquez eased through the final three rounds to improve his professional record to 56 wins from 64 fights.
