Victor Ortiz in action against Nate Campbell on Saturday night / Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

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Michael Nelson assesses the performances of Saturday night's junior-welterweight winners, Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz.

The changing of the guard has been accelerated in 2010.

Within two weeks, two 38 year old warriors in Shane Mosley and Nate Campbell suffered near shut-out defeats. The time when age and experience reigned supreme in pound-for-pound lists and divisional rankings is quickly coming to an end. Now, boxing is scrambling for some young stars.

Much of the star potential is coming out of the 140 pound division. Since Saturday night may have marked the end to Paulie Malignaggi and Nate Campbell as contenders, the top of the class is now owned by fighters in their early-to-mid twenties.

Two of the youngest, Victor Ortiz and Amir Khan (both 23 years old), shined in HBO's doubleheader. But we learned next to nothing new about them.

Campbell - who said he injured his sciatic nerve in training camp and struggled to push off his left foot after the second round - put forth perhaps the most passive effort of his career. He looked like a man unable to pull the trigger. So while credit is due to Ortiz for fighting a disciplined bout that featured crisp counter-punching mixed with steady lateral movement, questions revolving around how he'd react when things got a bit uncomfortable for him remained on the table.

Ortiz clinching enough to force referee Earl Brown to give him multiple warnings also knocked the splendor of his victory down a notch or two. Something about one of the biggest punchers in the division grabbing for dear life on the inside seems off.

Thus, we see that Victor can follow a gameplan when things are going according to plan. What happens when he's faced with some adversity? We'll have to find out on a later date.

Amir Khan impressed, but he was matched against someone he was supposed to impress against. He's a superbly quick and accurate boxer, with suspect whiskers and some question on how he'd fare in the late rounds of a grueling fight. His opponent, Malignaggi, is feather-fisted, doesn't apply enough pressure to make anything grueling, and is a respectable name on a resume. As a result, we were presented with largely a jabbing match, one that Khan predictably dominated nearly every minute of.

The three names that come up as potential opponents for Amir are Marcos Maidana, Timothy Bradley, and Devon Alexander, and none of their fighting styles resembles Paulie's. All would enforce ear-popping pressure in comparison, with Maidana adding a lethal punch to go with it.

So Saturday night wasn't much of a revelation at all. Instead, it was a reminder of how much youthful talent is blooming at 140 pounds right now, as well as a reminder that while father time may occasionally rope-a-dope us into believing age doesn't matter, he remains undefeated. After Nate Campbell's demoralizing defeat, he admitted that the wars had started to take its toll, and pondered retirement.

It may be the right move to make. Nate began boxing seriously at 28 sans a real amateur background. His late start likely contributed to some of the pitfalls of his career, which included strategic mishaps and brainfarts (Peden I, Hlatshwayo), weight struggles (Lorenzo, Funeka), misfortune (the ref in Peden II, Guzman), and injuries (Alcorro, Ortiz). There are too many valleys in his saga for him to reach the Hall of Fame.

But more times than not, the man brought it, and brought it in a way rarely seen in today's game. He didn't throw one punch and grab. He didn't dance and shoeshine. He didn't play low-contact games of chess. He stood his ground, dug uppercuts into his opponent's sternum, and asked him how it felt.

Perhaps it's best that the old guard is sinking as the new generation continue to bubble hot. Let's just hope these young bucks have learned a thing or two from the warriors they're replacing.

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