Ricardo Torres was supposed to be the power puncher, but it was his boxing skills that made the difference Saturday in a WBO super lightweight title fight with Mike Arnaoutis.

Torres won the vacant belt before a sellout crowd of 18,276 at the Thomas & Mack Center, surviving a 10th-round knockdown to score a split decision.

Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 114-113 for the left-handed Arnaoutis, but Adalaide Byrd had it 116-111 and Harry Davis had it 114-113 for Torres.

The Review-Journal card favored Arnaoutis, 115-112.

Torres was in serious trouble in the 10th when Arnaoutis flattened him with a straight left, then a thudding right hook. He only survived because the knockdown occurred seconds before the bell.

But Torres, who had lost in a bid for the title last year, was the busier fighter and pulled out the win.

"I was just too strong," said Torres, 30-1.

Torres injured his right hand -- the same one he hurt against Miguel Cotto and subsequently had operated on -- in the third round and said he fought one-handed the rest of the way.

But the fight was back and forth, and Torres was firing shots when he had to. Arnaoutis, who said before the fight he thought he punched as hard as Torres, was willing to stand and trade.

Arnaoutis (17-1-1) said he thought he won.

"I thought we did enough to win," he said. "I'm disappointed in the decision, but it was a close fight."

In a rematch of an August bout, Omar Nino retained his WBC mini flyweight title by pulling out a majority draw with Brian Viloria.

Nino won the title in a stunning upset of Viloria on Aug. 10 at the Orleans Arena. And, though he was nowhere near as dominant Saturday and was knocked down twice, he managed to retain the belt.

Judge Dave Moretti favored Nino, 115-112, but he was overruled by Samuel Conde and Carol Castellano, who each had it 113-113.

Viloria (19-1-1) was much more aggressive than he was in the original meeting and scored knockdowns in the fifth and ninth rounds. The knockdown in the fifth was more of a slip, as a Viloria left grazed Nino, but Viloria's follow through cuffed Nino on the back of the neck.

But in the ninth, Viloria raked Nino with a straight right and followed with a thudding overhand right that deposited the champion onto the seat of his pants.

Nino, though, boxed well and scored with a lot of shots to the body.

Most of the punches by both men were power shots. Only 19 of Viloria's 123 connects were jabs, and just 37 of Nino's 148 were jabs.