Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero: Winner, Scorecard and Analysis

WBA "regular" welterweight champion Keith "One Time" Thurman (25-0) easily won an unanimous decision over Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (32-3-1) on Saturday in Las Vegas. Thurman fought through the effects of a huge hematoma on the left side of his forehead to dominate Guerrero with his speed and vicious power shots.

ESPN.com's Dan Rafael has the official scorecards:

The fight was the main event for the debut of Premier Boxing Champions on NBC, and it didn't disappoint. From the outset, Thurman's speed advantage proved to be insurmountable for Guerrero. Thurman effectively changed levels all night. He mixed in jabs with nasty straight right-hand leads that wobbled Guerrero on multiple occasions. 

In the second round, an "accidental" head butt created a knot on Thurman's head. It seemed to momentarily bother Thurman, but he quickly gained his bearings and resumed dominating. NBC Sports noted the injury:

In the eighth round, Thurman sent Guerrero to the canvas with a thunderous head-body combination. One time gave it all he had trying to extinguish Guerrero until the end of the frame, but The Ghost's chin proved to be too sturdy.

Harry How/Getty Images

Oddly enough, Guerrero had his best moments of the fight after the knockdown. Thurman looked a little gassed from his efforts to finish and only fought in spurts the rest of the way. Guerrero had a good 10th round, but he couldn't hurt Thurman despite having some sparse moments in the championship rounds.

It was a great performance by Thurman, a gutty showing from Guerrero and an exciting fight all around. Despite the lopsided results, neither fighter will lose any prestige after the bout.

Thurman was complimentary of Guerrero after the bout. Isaac Estrada of Real Boxing News captured a quote from the winner during his post-fight interview in this tweet:

Guerrero's resolve clearly made an impression on the crowd. They chanted loudly for him from the 10th round on and Estrada shared his thoughts on the Las Vegas crowd's support for The Ghost: 

Thurman continues to mow down opponents in impressive fashion. He couldn't become the first man to stop Guerrero, but he's the first to legitimately hurt him. When Guerrero went down in the ninth round, he was in serious trouble. It was a testament to his toughness that he got back up and finished the fight strong.

After yet another strong showing, Thurman remains one of the scariest fighters at welterweight. It makes sense for his name to be on a short list of fighters qualified to face the winner of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight on May 2. However, a lot more goes into making that type of fight happen than conventional logic.

If the winner of Mayweather-Pacquiao isn't going to happen for Thurman, Tom Craze of BoxBet has an intriguing idea:

Thurman has repeatedly called out Marcos Rene Maidana. We'll see if his latest win can get the hard-charging Argentine in the ring.

In defeat, Guerrero still seemed to have maintained his reputation as a tough out. He should have no problems getting another big-time bout with PBC, but his kryptonite seems to be quick and athletic fighters like Thurman. Overall, this was an entertaining and successful opening night for PBC on NBC.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.