Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez returned home to Los Mochis, Mexico, and he defended his IBF super featherweight title for the first time with an unexpected thrilling points win against Florida-based Christopher Diaz.
Eddie Hearn’s Nunez shone once again against Diaz.
Nunez was due to fight Anthony Cacace until Cacace relinquished his belt.
Nunez (29-1, KO27) took the vacant IBF belt in May, as he pounded out a points win in Japan against Masanori Rikiishi in Yokohama. Diaz (30-6, KO19) lost on points to Henry Labron last December, before winning an eight-rounder against the 9-10 Jose Antonio Meza in April.
It was a quiet opening round, with Diaz’s jabs possibly shading it, and the challenger landed a couple of eye-catching left hands in round two that continued his solid start.
The third round was an absorbing one, with a hard right landing for Nunez, with a big looping right hand connecting for Diaz, as well as a meaty left hook.
Nunez put his punches together well in the fourth, and after a close fifth, the champion started to assert, cranking up the pressure on Diaz with combinations to head and body.
That pressure told just a round later, with Diaz on the deck from a counter Nunez right hand.
Although Diaz beat the count, he was soon tasting the canvas again, with another hard right hand doing the damage in a massive swing round for the Mexican.
Diaz regrouped, and fired back gamely in round eight, while the ninth saw Nunez have success to the body in what was gripping action.
Diaz wasn’t done, and let his hands go to good effect in the championship rounds, while the pair went to war, the final frame seeing an all out slugfest.
The scorecards didn’t reflect how close the contest was, and two scores of 117-109 and a third at 116-110 saw the belt remain the property of Nunez, who was involved in a showdown with WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete post-fight.
Remaining Undercard
A ten-rounder at super flyweight headed the undercard, and former WBC light flyweight champion Pedro Guevara (43-5-2, KO22) and former IBF holder at the same weight, Adrian Curiel (26-6-2, KO5), couldn’t be separated in a split draw.
Guevara was adjudged a 96-94 winner on one card, and Curiel had a 97-93 tally in his favour.
The third judge scored the bout a 95-95 draw ensuring a stalemate.
The other ten-rounder came at flyweight, where Yoali Mejia Mosqueda (14-0, KO11) took the early route again, as he stopped German Valenzuela Barreras (17-8, KO12) in the sixth round of their contest.
Barreras hadn’t previously been halted.
Hector Beltran (4-0, KO3) dropped Moises Martinez Zumaya (2-1, KO1) twice before securing a first-round stoppage win at super welterweight.
