Navarrete Stops Nuñez in 11 to Unify WBO/IBF Titles

Photos By Sumio Yamada

WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel “El Vaquero” Navarrete of Mexico City, Mexico, and IBF super featherweight champion Eduardo “Sugar” Nuñez of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, squared off in a unification bout Saturday night at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

In what was expected to be a battle and anticipated slugfest, the fight did not quite live up to the buildup, as El Vaquero Navarrete pummeled a very tough and determined Sugar Nuñez to an eleventh-round stoppage.

The fight started slowly, as Navarrete and Nuñez pawed with their jabs in a feel-out opening round. Nuñez boxed in the second, circling as Navarrete stalked him. Near the end of the round, Navarrete connected with a hard left hook that staggered Nuñez. An exchange early in the third sparked the action, as Navarrete landed a solid right hand, but Nuñez returned the favor by connecting with a left hook. Closing out round three, Navarrete again staggered Nuñez with a hard left hook.

Nuñez suffered a cut over his right eye in the fourth and appeared to be giving Navarrete too much respect, as El Vaquero continued applying pressure and outworking him. Momentum briefly appeared to shift when Nuñez attacked the body and backed Navarrete to the ropes, but the Mexico City fighter fought off the ropes and dismantled Nuñez’s attack. Navarrete was precise in his assault, pounding away in the seventh as Nunez continued attacking downstairs.

Nuñez’s body attack persisted, as the Sinaloan followed up by connecting with right hands upstairs. However, Navarrete’s steady offense appeared to be catching up with Nuñez, whose eye was completely swollen shut heading into the tenth. The cut over Nuñez’s right eye reopened, and Navarrete seized the opportunity, teeing off on him. After the tenth round, Nuñez came out for the eleventh but was examined by the ringside physician, who decided to stop the fight.

With the victory, Emanuel Navarrete improves to 40-2-1 with 33 KOs, unifying the WBO and IBF super featherweight titles. Eduardo Nuñez falls to 29-2 with 27 KOs, relinquishing his title.

Vargas Stops Quintana in 9

The son of legend Fernando Vargas, super lightweight prospect Emiliano Vargas faced his toughest test to date, stopping a very tough Agustin Quintana of Argentina in the ninth round of the co-feature bout to Navarrete vs. Nunez.

Vargas boxed cautiously early on, as Quintana landed several solid shots from the opening bell. Things got messy in the fourth when Quintana landed a low blow, slowing Vargas’s momentum. However, the fight began to pick up, with Vargas busting up Quintana. That did not deter the Argentine fighter, who continued to bring the pressure. Vargas had his work cut out for him, despite Quintana being cut and battered.

After the eighth round, Quintana remained in his corner as referee Raul Caiz Jr. decided to stop the fight. A disappointed and animated Quintana protested the stoppage.

Emiliano Vargas remains undefeated and improves to 17-0 with 14 KOs. Agustin Quintana, after a courageous effort, falls to 22-3-1 with 13 KOs.

Ramos Hands Smalls His First Defeat In Glendale, AZ

Welterweight local Abel Ramos of Phoenix outworked Philadelphia’s Tahmir Smalls to earn a split decision victory.

The undefeated Smalls was sharp early, out-landing Ramos and connecting with combinations as Ramos got off to a slow start. However, Ramos worked patiently and landed occasional body shots. Things began to pick up for Ramos in the fourth round, as the body shots continued to connect on Smalls. An overhand right by Ramos later in the round got Smalls’s attention.

In the second half of the fight, Ramos began to close the distance and connect more solidly. The body work appeared to be taking its toll, as Smalls began to fade. Ramos came on strong in the seventh, with his experience starting to factor in while Smalls became more limited. As the fight progressed, it was all Ramos, as Smalls could not keep the pressure off. Fighting confidently, Ramos pressed the action, while the Philadelphia fighter appeared to be fighting just to reach the final bell.

The judges scored the bout 98-92 and 97-93 for Ramos, and 96-94 for Smalls, giving Ramos the split decision. With the win, Ramos improves to 29-6-3 with 22 KOs. Smalls suffers his first defeat and falls to 16-1 with 11 KOs.

Arturo Cardenas and Jordan Martinez Draw

Undefeated bantamweight prospects Arturo Cardenas from Michoacan, Mexico and local Jordan Martinez of Phoenix opened up the DAZN card in battling it out and fighting to a ten round split draw.

Cardenas started the fight connecting effective against the scrappy Martinez. Boxing away, Cardenas racked up combinations, but Martinez held his ground and exchanged early in the fight. Martinez began to close in on Cardenas halfway through as the Mexican began to box more of his back foot.

Connecting effectively and exchanging, Martinez stayed on top of Cardenas, but Cardenas continued to land big. Attacking and applying pressure Martinez was fighting confidently late in the fight as Cardenas began to sense the urgency and pick up the pace. Continuing to land the big punches Cardenas could not keep Martinez off him as the local fighter worked away determined to the final bell.

Upon completing ten rounds the judges scored the fight 98-92 for Martinez, 96-94 for Cardenas, and 95-95 even as the bout was declared a draw. Arturo Cardenas record now stands at 17-0-1, 9 KO's and Jordan Martinez goes to 16-0-1, 15 KOs, as the two should run it back for some unfinished business.

Preliminary Bouts

Alvarez Hands Ochoa First Defeat

Welterweight Oscar Alvarez of Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, pulled off a shocker by handing local undefeated fighter Trini Ochoa his first loss, winning an eight-round unanimous decision. Alvarez overwhelmed Ochoa throughout the fight, as Ochoa could not keep up with the Mexican fighter.

The judges scored the bout 79-73, 78-74, and 78-74.

With the upset victory, Alvarez improves to 15-2 with 12 KOs. Ochoa suffers his first defeat and drops to 21-1 with 9 KOs.

Hector Beltran Stays Undefeated

Dallas, Texas native Hector Beltran won a unanimous decision over Cesar Diaz of Peru. Beltran was too skilled for the Peruvian fighter, outworking and dominating Diaz over six rounds to earn the decision. All three judges scored the bout 60-54.

Beltran remains undefeated, improving to 7-0 with 5 KOs. Diaz falls to 10-2 with 5 KOs.

Phillip Vella Gets the Win

Bantamweight Phillip Vella of Henderson, Nevada, dominated in a unanimous decision victory over Bryant Ramos of Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. It was all Vella, as he boxed effectively and worked his way to the decision win, with all three judges scoring the bout 60-54.

With the win, Vella improves to 5-0 with 2 KOs. Ramos drops to 8-7-1 with 2 KOs.

Rahman Muhammad Stops Mitchell McFadden in Two

In the opening bout at the Desert Diamond Casino in Glendale, Arizona, welterweight prospect Rahman Muhammad of Las Vegas stopped Mitchell McFadden of Atlanta in the second round. Muhammad dropped McFadden multiple times — once in the opening round and twice in the second — before the referee halted the contest.

Muhammad improves to 2-0 with 2 KOs, while McFadden falls to 1-1 with 1 KO.