Henry Cejudo has now covered professional boxing on his combat sports bingo card.
The 39-year-old Olympic gold medalist and former two-division UFC champion made his professional boxing debut Saturday against "Euphoria" star Javon Walton.
The bout served as the main event of a Mistfits Boxing event at the James L. Knight Center in Miami. After four three-minute rounds, the judges turned in dueling 39-37 scores, with two judges seeing Cejudo as the winner.
Walton's longer frame proved to be a challenge early for Cejudo, but as the first round unfolded, he was able to find his range by darting in to close the distance. Both fighters found success early in Round 2, but Cejudo landed the more powerful punches, causing Walton to reset and reassess his approach.
With two rounds to go, Cejudo continued to excel as he set the terms of the fight, but Walton met Cejudo's forward pressure with well-placed counters when crowded. With just three minutes to go, and the fight potentially hanging in the balance, both Cejudo and Walton turned up the volume as they looked to put a stamp on the fight.
Sure enough, the judges weren't in agreement, as Cejudo, edged out a split nod to win his professional debut.
During his post-fight interview, Cejudo, 39, said he felt Round 1 didn't go his way, but he was able to make the appropriate adjustments to get the win over the 20-year-old "Wanna" Walton. He also called out Nurideen Shabazz, aka "Deen the Great," whom he was originally scheduled to fight.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Misfits Boxing results: Henry Cejudo edges out split decision in pro debut
