By Mark Eisner: In a fight of the year candidate, former two-division world champion Luis ‘Pantera’ Nery (34-1, 26 KOs) came back from the brink of defeat to stop Azat “Crazy A” Hovhannisyan (21-4, 17 KOs) in the 11th round in a thrilling WBC super bantamweight title eliminator on Saturday night at the Fox Theater Pomona in California.
The 28-year-old Nery was seemingly worn out from the pressure and body shots from Hovhannisyan, but then came back to drop him with a left hook late in the tenth round.
In the 11th round, Nery finished off Hovhannisyan after nailing him with a hard left hand that staggered him, resulting in the referee stepping in and halting the contest.
“I want Inoue & I want Fulton,” said Nery after the fight when asked who he wanted to face next. “I feel ready to go for the world championship, whether it’s Fulton or Inoue.”
That’s going to be tough for Nery to try and beat Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue or Stephen Fulton because they have outstanding boxing skills, and they’ll make sure they target his body.
As we saw ‘Crazy A’ expose tonight and Brandon Figueroa in 2021, Nery’s kryptonite is taking it to the body.
Undercard results:
- In an oddly scored fight, super middleweight Shane Mosley Jr. (19-4, 10 KOs) kept his career alive tonight, laboring to an unspectacular 10 round unanimous decision win over Mario Lozano (33-11, 24 KOs) in the co-feature bout. The 32-year-old Mosley Jr started fast, using his high-volume work rate to outwork the 35-year-old Lozano through the first five rounds. Lozano looked good for a fighter coming off a 3 1/2-year layoff. Lozano started coming on in the fifth and appeared to get the better of Mosley Jr in rounds 5, 6, and 10. Surprisingly, the judges scored it wide for Mosley at 100-90, 99-91, and 99-91. Many boxing fans at ringside booed the decision afterward, not happy with how wide the judges scored a fight that appeared to be a lot closer than the strange scores they turned in. Based on this performance by Mosley Jr, it’s not realistic to picture him competing with the top fighters in the 168-lb division. You can’t put Mosley Jr in with fighters like David Morrell, Caleb Plant, Canelo Alvarez, David Benavidez, Demetrius Andrade, or Diego Pacheco and expect him to win. With that said, it would be a toss-up in a fight between Mosley Jr and Edgar Berlanga.
- Undefeated flyweight contender Ricardo “El Niño” Sandoval (21-2, 16 KOs) scored a beautiful second round knockout of Jerson Ortiz (17-7, 8 KOs). The 24-year-old Sandoval connected with a powerful left hook to the body of Ortiz that put him down on his hands & knees. With the condition Ortiz was in, there was no way he could get back up. The time of the stoppage was at 2:46 of the second.
- Super middleweight Rowdy Montgomery (9-4-1, 6 KOs) defeated journeyman Christian Olivas (22-9, 19 KOs) by an eight round unanimous decision. The judges scored it 79-73, 79-73, and 80-72.
Preview: The Nery-Hovhannisyan card has flown under the radar of many boxing fans this week, as it’s not been given a huge promotional push in the same way that the earlier fight card tonight on DAZN between WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood and Mauricio Lara, which takes place in Nottingham, England.
“It’s going to be a great fight. Azat is a great fighter,” said Nery. “I have been watching him for a long time. He is a strong fighter – he throws punches and has resilience in the ring, and has never been knocked out before. These are the types of challenges that I like to have that make me a better fighter.”
Super middleweight Shane Mosley Jr (18-4, 10 KOs) will fight Mario Lozano (33-10, 24 KO) in a 10-round co-feature bout.
Mosley Jr is coming off an upset 10-round majority decision win over journeyman Gabriel Rosado last year in April. Before that, Mosley Jr was beaten by Jason Quigley.
Given that Mosley Jr isn’t ranked by any of the four sanctioning bodies at 168 and getting up there in age at 32, it’s unclear why Golden Boy Promotions is keeping him around. Is it because of his name recognition due to his famous father, Shane Mosley Sr? That’s the only thing that makes sense.
The 28-year-old southpaw Nery has won his last two fights against David Carmona and Carlos Castro since losing his WBC 122-lb title against Brandon Figueroa by a seventh round knockout two years ago in May 2021.
Ranked #2 WBC at super bantamweight, it’s unclear why Nery hasn’t moved up to the featherweight division already because he struggles making weight and looks as big as a house after he rehydrates.
If Nery moved up to 126, it would be easier for him to make weight, and it might help him raise his game.
The dangerous former two-division world champion Luis “Pantera” Nery (33-1, 25 KOs) battles Azat “Crazy A” Hovhannisyan (21-3, 17 KOs) in a 12-round WBC super bantamweight title eliminator tonight on DAZN at the historic Fox Theater Pomona in California. Tonight’s Nery vs. Hovhannisyan will be shown live on DAZN, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.