By Jake Donovan

If there was a silver lining to be found in Saturday's network head-to-head matchup between HBO and Showtime, it's that a star was born with the premium cable network debut of Felix Verdejo.

A modest-sized yet vocal crowd of more than 3,300 filed into Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City to get a glimpse at the unbeaten 2012 Puerto Rican Olympian. The June 13 showcase marked Verdejo's first live appearance on HBO, and he didn't disappoint in cruising to a dominant 10-round virtual shutout of Ivan Najera in a matchup of unbeaten lightweights.

The bout—which served as the opening act of an HBO-televised doubleheader—drew an average of 611,000 viewers, according to

Nielsen Media Research

. The number may not be mind blowing, but a good pull for a rising star just three years into his pro career. 

The main event wasn't nearly as memorable—in fact, it was largely forgettable. Nicholas Walters managed to remain unbeaten in a wide decision win over Miguel Marriaga. The battle of unbeaten featherweights actually underperformed its chief support, drawing just 588,000 viewers over the course of 12 dull rounds. 

HBO's show was in direct conflict with Showtime's own televised doubleheader, topped by Deontay Wilder's 9th round knockout of Eric Molina, although in a shaky performance in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,347 in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Wilder and Walters both went in reverse in terms of viewership, pulling in nearly double the audience in each of their previous respective bouts. Wilder-Molina drew 678,000 viewers—the most of any of the four bouts televised on premium cable on Saturday, but a far cry from the 1.24 million viewers who tuned in for his heavyweight title-winning effort over Bermane Stiverne in January. 

Walters—whose nickname is 'Axe Man'—saw his viewing audience chopped nearly in half from his career best win. The unbeaten Jamaican starched Nonito Donaire inside of six rounds on HBO last October, their bout topping out at more than 1 million viewers in the chief support to Gennady Gololvkin's two-round destruction of Marco Antonio Rubio. 

The HBO main event was disinteresting enough to fans in attendance that it was met with boos and eventually protest. The lack of action produced in the featherweight bout prompted the pro-Verdejo crowd to eventually file out before the ending, in which Walters won a decision, but lost his featherweight belt in the process after coming in above the featherweight limit during their official weigh-in. 

The lone ratings victory on the evening for HBO came in overall telecast average. The doubleheader from New York City averaged 562,000 viewers to 482,000 for Showtime's broadcast from Birmingham, Alabama.

Because HBO boasts roughly 25% more subscribers, the 17% higher average in viewership didn't translate to a win in household ratings. Showtime pulled in a 1.4 rating on the night; HBO drew a 1.2 rating. Showtime also outperformed HBO in average viewership for the respective main events (678,000 to 588,000) and higher peak (755,000 for Wilder-Molina, 655,000 for Verdejo-Najera, the HBO co-feature attraction). 

The final ratings results from Saturday should be enough to convince both premium cable networks to do its best to avoid head-to-head telecasts. It remains to be seen if the message resonates, but at the very least for HBO a new star on the rise is found in Verdejo. 

All data provided by Nielsen Media Research.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox