Mario Santiago, once a contender in the featherweight division, returned to action last night in Ponce, Puerto Rico, beating Hector Marengo by decision over eight rounds in a lightweight bout. All three scores were 77-75.
Santiago on the win:
"All I wanted was a win, and it was good because I went the distance. I really felt good and now I'm more motivated than ever. The plan is to go down to 130 pounds, where I know I will be in excellent shape, much faster and stronger, but still, I'm happy with tonight's' performance."
Santiago (22-3-1, 14 KO) hadn't fought since 2010, following a pair of back-to-back defeats against Jorge Solis and Bernabe Concepcion. He had one title shot in 2008, going to a split draw with Steven Luevano on the Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz pay-per-view undercard in Las Vegas.
Santiago's last win prior to this was a majority decision over club fighter Morris Chule in 2009.
Puerto Rican junior welterweight Fernando Torres (18-3-1, 10 KO) was also back in action last night, and stopped his own two-fight losing streak with a decision win over Samuel Santana (5-7-2, 0 KO).