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Luis “The Twist” Nuñez overcame adversity to get a 10th round technical knockout against Carlos Arrieta in the super featherweight main event of the three-fight card on ShoBox, that featured all undefeated fighters on Friday night at the Caribe Royale Resort.
Nunez early in the fight appeared to get outworked by Arrieta who had a good guard and was able to outthrow Nunez, who looked for the massive home-run punch, not setting things up as much. Later in the fight, as the pace slowed, Nunez got more comfortable, and stopped Arrieta in the tenth-and-final-round.
“The plan was to work the body and to break him down and that’s what we did,” Nunez said. “I saw the right hand was landing and I kept throwing it and trying to set him up for it and attacking until we got what we wanted in the final round. It was a great shot and great win for my career. It’s the way I wanted to close the fight.”
When looking at it by the nubmers, Nuñez landed 38 percent of his power punches, but only had a small margin of outlanding Arrieta in total punches with it being 142-131.
“I fought for most of my career at 122 so 126 is where I belong,” Nunez said. “I felt strong at this weight [super featherweight] but 126 is the weight for me.”
In the co-main event, we saw a potential star alert as Otar Eranosyan remained unbeaten with his second consecutive ShoBox victory as he defeated Starling Castillo with a unanimous-decision victory. The bout impressed me as Castillo was a fighter with a lot of momentum, and Eranosyan was too strong. Eranosyan’s record is amazing thus far, as he has beaten four prospects, and three undefeated fighters in eleven pro fights, all of which have occured since the COVID-19 pandemic started. A major promoter needs to sign him ASAP, he is a brutally come-forward pressure fighter.
“We work on the left hook in training and when the opening presented itself I landed the left hook on the (first) knockdown,” said Eranosyan, ranked No. 7 by the WBA at 130 pounds, who fought six times in 2021. “It’s fine that he got up. This is pro boxing. We train for 12 rounds, 10 rounds, eight rounds, however long it takes we will be there.
After the fight he called out Oscar Valdez and Shakur Stevenson.
In the telecast opener, the right man won as William Foster III had to win ugly to earn a hard-fought split decision against Edwin De Los Santos in an eight-round super featherweight bout. The one judge who scored the bout for De Los Santos delivered a laughable bad scorecard.
Foster, the brother of light heavyweight Charles Foster, started slow to not get caught by something big by Edwin De Los Santos, only to smoother De Los Santos literally with activity. The bout was a street fight disguised as a boxing match, and Foster proved to be the tougher of the two.
“I was pressuring him the whole time and I knew he was slowing down and eventually I would get to him,” said Foster, who kept moving forward as the fight progressed and dictated and landed the more powerful punches. “I thought it was the right decision because I was landing more shots as the fight went on.”
Callum Johnson Out With COVID
WBO light heavyweight world champion Joe Smith Jr. will now face Steve Geffrard as Callum Johnson has contracted the new variant of COVID-19, and can no longer face the world champion. Geffrard lost his first two fights as a pro, and now has won 18 fights in a row, and has been a road warrior, yet not much is known about him. The bout will be next Saturday on ESPN in Verona, New York.
DAZN Early Schedule
Saturday, February 05: Jessie Vargas vs. Liam Smith - Former two-weight world champion who now has goals at politics Jessie Vargas takes on former WBO light-middleweight champion Liam Smith, as top super flyweight Rungvisai Vs. Cuadras will fight for the vacant WBC Super-Flyweight title also on the card. The card features a good older guy main event, and a meaningful fight in the super flyweight division, as it is nice to see Rungvisai back on TV, as he seemingly has been off U.S. airways for years.
Saturday, February 12: Daniel Jacobs Vs. John Ryder - Super-middleweight John Ryder will face the toughest test of his careeer against two-time middleweight world champion Daniel Jacobs in the UK. This is Jacobs fight to lose, he holds all the gifts against Ryder, but the kryptonite to Jacobs at times is his work ethic. Ryder is a high-motor guy. This fight will tell us if Jacobs still wants to fight.
Saturday, February 19: Jaime Munguía vs. D'Mitrius Ballard - Mexican middleweight Jaime Munguía takes on D'Mitrius Ballard in a rescheduled middleweight battle between the pair for the WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title. Munguia looked as good as ever against Gabe Rosado, and “Big Meech” Ballard was pushed to the limit Paul Valenzuela. For those counting out Ballard, remember his coach is Barry Hunter, and that is one of the best in the business. This could be a trap-fight for Munguia.
Sunday, February 27: Lawrence Okolie vs. Michel Cieslak - WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie, who is a feature star on DAZN/Matchroom will defend his belt for the second time at the end of February. Okolie is one of the next major U.K. guys
Saturday, March 05: Estrada vs. Chocolatito III - Juan Francisco Estrada and Román ‘Chocolatito’ González run it back once more for a highly anticipated trilogy fight for the WBA and The Ring Super Flyweight titles. The bout will be in San Diego, California, and will be a fitting end to the rivalry between the two historic super flyweights.
Saturday, March 12: Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlan - Leigh Wood will look to defend his WBA belt for the first time against WBA 'interim' featherweight champion Michael Conlan. Wood feels like one of Matchroom’s next guys, and Conlan has never quite put forth a performance to capitalize on his early career momentum after the Olympics. A trajectory fight for both.
Saturday, March 19: Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Michael McKinson - One of the most exciting fighters in the world. Vergil Ortiz Jr. will face Michael McKinson in the first defense his WBO International welterweight title. Ortiz is must-see-TV.
Saturday, March 26: Kiko Martinez vs. Josh Warrington II - Spanish two-weight world champion Kiko Martinez puts his newly acquired IBF featherweight belt on the line against old foe Josh Warrington – who actually beat the champion back in 2017. Even more strange is this is not a rematch against Kid Galahad, who Martinez beat for the title last year.
Other News
Aaron Aponte has signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. Aponte is managed by Peter Kahn, who manages George Kambosos Jnr., and Xander Zayas.
“I have the best manager in the sport Peter Kahn and now with best promotional company in the world in Matchroom and Eddie Hearn,” said Aponte. “There is no stopping me from becoming the next face of boxing. The Alien King has arrived.”
“I am delighted to welcome Aaron to the team,” said Hearn. “We’ve had the pleasure of having Aaron on two cards in Florida and even in his infancy in the paid ranks, this young man has shown that he has both the in-ring talent and growing fan base to become a real force in the sport. We look forward to his journey continuing in 2022 and beyond, and Aaron rising to all challenges we put in front of him.”
Franchón Crews-Dezurn and Elin Cederroos have signed promotional deals with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, and the Super-Middleweight rulers will meet for the undisputed title in the spring. A side note is, if Crews-Dezurn were to win, that would be two undisputed world champions that Peter Kahn had of managed or advised.
“I really don’t wanna talk, I’m just going to bring that action for the main attraction and get everything I deserve,” said Crews-Dezurn. “It’s about legacy and survival so I appreciate Eddie Hearn, Matchroom, DAZN and Peter Kahn for making this happen. It’s my time to live up to my own expectations I’m great!”
“I have been ready for this fight for a long time now,” said Cederroos. I am grateful that Matchroom and DAZN has given us the opportunity to make it real. It going to be a prestigious fight for the world of boxing and a big step for women’s boxing.
Dante “Free Smoke” Benjamin Jr., a Cleveland-based light heavyweight signed a promotional contract with Top Rank. He is a stablemate of 2020 U.S. Olympian “Tiger” Johnson, and trains with famed fighter Prenice Brewer.
“Dante Benjamin Jr. has the makeup and the amateur pedigree to be a tremendous professional,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Cleveland has produced some of our nation’s top emerging fighters, and I look forward to Dante, Tiger and Abdullah bringing big-time boxing to their city for years come.”
“I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity. Being a professional boxer at the highest level is something I've wanted to do since I was a kid,” Benjamin said. “I’m living out one of my dreams, and I am driven to win a world title. I’m proud to represent my city. I’m hungry to be great, and that’s why I bust my butt in the gym every day.”
Joet Gonzalez is now with Top Rank, as it was announced this week, he is no longer with Golden Boy Promotions, and his co-main event fight in Fresno, California versus Jeo Santisima will be the first of his new contract.
Unbeaten heavyweight Jeremiah “Dreamland” Milton has signed an exclusive promotional contract with Holden Productions, his next fight is at the end of the month on a Top Rank card, in his hometown of Tusla, Ok.