Emanuel Navarrete batters Eduardo Nunez by TKO in the 11th round, earning the unified super featherweight title Saturday night in Glendale, AZ.
Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs) was ahead on all scorecards at the time of the stoppage, and once he got going in this fight, Nunez (29-2, 27 KOs) couldn’t keep up. During the post-fight in-ring interview, Navarrete was asked about what’s next, and he declined to give a straight answer. Instead, he said he wants to enjoy the win, rest, and figure everything out at that point.
In the opening round, Nunez used smart movement and footwork to stay outside midrange. He effectively landed his left jab and occasionally turned the right hand to Navarrete’s head. Meanwhile, Navarrete was following Nunez around the ring and had difficulty finding his target. In the last ten seconds, he landed a straight right hand that caught Nunez’s attention.
Nunez continued his lateral movement throughout the second round as Navarrete kept chasing him around. Navarrete landed a couple of his right hands, but it wasn’t until the end of the round that Navarrete landed a huge left hook that sent Nunez back to the ropes. The best part of the third round was the last 20 seconds, as Navarrete landed a huge left uppercut that buzzed Nunez. Navarrete followed it up with an overhand right before the bell rang. All of this happened after a round in which Nunez circled around Navarrete without throwing many punches.
In the fourth round, a series of left jabs caused a small cut under Nunez’s right eye. Navarrete set the pace with his offense, closing the distance and mixing in some left hooks to the body.
Nunez finally got going in the fifth round after he began to press forward on the front foot. He had Navarrete backing up as Nunez was landing hard left hooks to the body and counter right hands. In the middle of the round, a war broke out as Navarrete unloaded a high volume of punches both to the body and head of Nunez, who then came back with four-punch combinations. It was the first glimpse of the fight that everyone thought they would see from the start.
The sixth round was mostly Navarrete, who continued his relentless offense, leaving Nunez unable to find an opening for counterattacks for most of the round. In the final minute, Nunez chose to throw only left and right hooks to Navarrete’s body, which caused him to cave in a few times from the body punches. Navarrete’s offense started to wear down Nunez in the seventh round, as for the first time in the fight, Nunez appeared buzzed from the intense exchanges inside.
The eighth round was more of Navarrete, and in the ninth round, Nunez’s right eye closed completely as Navarrete was teeing off on him. He survived the round, but the corner was very concerned about their fighter.
Nunez showed a lot of heart in the tenth round, fighting with one eye and refusing to quit. He was getting hit with bombs but kept throwing his own. At the start of the 11th round, the referee directed Nunez to the ringside physician, who declared the fight couldn’t continue, awarding Navarrete the win by TKO. Navarrete now holds two titles at 130 pounds.
Emanuel Navarrete vs. Eduardo Nunez Undercard Results
Emiliano Vargas (17-0, 14 KOs) scored a tenth-round TKO over Agustin Quintana (22-3-1, 13 KOs). At the end of the ninth round, the referee approached Quintana’s corner and, after inspecting his cuts, decided to wave off the fight at that moment. Quintana expressed his frustrations afterward, as he just wanted to finish the fight. Vargas continues to progress in his young career.
Abel Ramos (29-6-3, 22 KOs) has come close in big fights, but against Tahmir Smalls (16-1, 11 KOs), Ramos dominated the second half of the fight to earn a split decision victory. The judges scored this one 98-92 Ramos, 96-94 Smalls, and 97-93 for Ramos, who secured the win that will extend his career.
Arturo Cardenas (17-0-2, 9 KOs) and Jordan Martinez (16-0-1, 15 KOs) fought a competitive ten-round fight, but the judges couldn’t decide on a clear winner, with scores of 98-92 for Cardenas, 96-94 for Martinez, and 95-95, resulting in a split draw. It was an entertaining fight that opened the DAZN telecast.
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