He more than proved himself against Arnaoutis, however. A native of Detroit now living in Houston, the 32-year-old relied on a relentless approach to keep the fight close for the first 10 rounds.

"It was a hard fight," Arnaoutis said. "He had a lot of inside power and was tougher than I expected. But I thought I controlled the action."

Tyner was very aggressive at the outset.

He had predicted a knockout at Thursday night's weigh-in by vowing that "'Mighty Mike' will go night-y night" and tried his best to make good on his promise in the first two rounds. He pressed the action, walking through Arnaoutis' jab to land enough shots to redden Arnaoutis' face.

Arnaoutis (19-2-2, 9 KOs), a native of Athens, Greece, attributed his sluggish start to the softness of the ring. He said it was too soft, which prevented him from bouncing around the outside while firing his jab. Tyner captalized by doggedly charging inside and firing hooks from all angles.

"Man, I can beat these top guys," Tyner said. "I mean, I respect them and everything, but I can beat them. Arnaoutis didn't beat me. I beat myself."

Arnaoutis nearly ended a back-and-forth brawl in the seventh. The 28-year-old caught Tyner with a right uppercut, straight left flurry that sent him staggering backward for the first time in the bout. When Tyner retreated to the ropes, Arnaoutis followed and peppered him with powerful body shots, jabs and hooks for almost a minute.

Just when referee Wayne Hedgepath looked as if he might step in, however, Tyner doggedly fought back for the last 10 seconds of the round, producing a wink from Arnaoutis.

With the victory, Arnatouis retained his top-10 ranking in the WBO and should also move up in the IBF rankings. That would put him in position for a rematch against the Ricardo Torres-Kendall Holt WBO title fight - both of Arnaoutis' defeats were against those fighters - or enable him to challenge IBF king Paulie Malignaggi.

"I think I'm ready to go backup to the next level," Arnaoutis said.

On the undercard, Somers Point middleweight Patrick Majewski (8-0, 5 KOs) rebounded from the second knockdown of his young career to score a four-round unanimous decision over Ariel Espinal (6-3-1, 2 KOs), of New York.

Espinal caught Majewski with an overhand right in the second round that put him down on one knee, but the Polish native rose quickly. Majewski, 28, also suffered a cut under his right eye but otherwise dominated the rest of the bout with a relentless attack.

All three judges - Pierre Benoist, Eugene Grant and George Hill - favored Majewski 38-37, as did The Press.

"I didn't see (the punch) coming and I got caught, but I was more stunned than hurt," Majewski said. "I just kept fighting the way I always fight. I never stop throwing punches."

After the main event, Atlantic City bantamweight Qa'id Muhammad (2-0, 2 KOs) earned his second win in as many bouts with a second-round TKO over outmatched Arthur Parker (1-7, 1 KO), of Lancaster, Pa. Referee Harvey Dock wisely stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 41 seconds of the second round.

"He was adjusting to my punches at first, so I tried to mix things up," Muhammad said. "I was hoping to land the big shot to end it, but I wasn't worried because I could tell that he was wearing down slowly but surely."

The co-feature did not last long. Unbeaten heavyweight Devon Vargas (16-0, 7 KOs), of Toledo, Ohio, needed just 1:31 to notch a knockout over Dave Brunelli (8-4, 3 KOs), of Philadelphia.

Philly welterweight Raymond Serrano, Jr. (6-0, 4 KOs) gained a first-round knockout in 1:46 over Charles Wade (4-6, 1 KO), of Winston-Salem, N.C., with a body shot.

New York lightweight Francisco Palacios (3-4-4) earned a four-round majority decision over Clinton Douglas (2-2-2) in a thrilling fight that drew a standing ovation.

PUNCHLINES: Atlantic City welterweight Linwood Hurd (2-0-2) is scheduled to fight at Cape Henlopen High School in Delaware next Saturday, May 17. Hurd, who earned a split decision win over Douglas last November in Wildwood, will take on Mike Denby (1-1-1, 1 KO), of Felton, Del., in a four-rounder.

Atlantic City cruiserweight Lavarn Harvell (1-0) is slated to be part of the May 31 card at the House of Blues in Showboat Casino-Hotel. The 19-year-old is trained by Muhammad's father, Abdur Rahim Muhammad. Atlantic City heavyweight Bruce Seldon (37-6, 33 KOs), the former WBA champion, is also expected to be on that card.

To e-mail David Weinberg at The Press:

DWeinberg@pressofac.com