IBF super featherweight champion Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez (29-1, 27 KOs) used his volume punching to defeat the surprisingly Christopher Diaz (30-6, 19 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision in a pure war on Saturday night at the Centro de Usos Multiples, Los Mochis, in Mexico.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom Boxing)
Nunez’s Volume Over Diaz’s Power
The harder, cleaner shots were landed by Diaz, 30, throughout the fight. What won the bout for Nunez was his volume and inside game. He outworked Diaz, landing his lighter punches in volume form. Nunez looked like a smaller, less formidable version of lightweight William Zepeda. He has a very similar style, but not as voluminous or with the same quality of body puncher as him.
Sugar Nunez’s Survival in the 12th
In the 12th round, Diaz went after Nunez, landing at will with huge shots to the head, cutting him over his left eye. Looking stunned and beaten up, Nunez was forced to cover up against the ropes through most of the last two minutes while Diaz shelled him with heavy blows to the head. Nunez took a real beating and was lucky that there wasn’t a minute more because he looked in bad shape in the final moments. Diaz was hitting him with massive shots throughout the last two-thirds of the round.
Diaz- came on strong in the 11th and 12th rounds, landing massive rights and lefts to the head of ‘Sugar’ Nunez. The left hooks that Diaz was hitting Nunez with to the body were thrown with perfect form. How Nunez stayed up from those shots is hard to know. The 12th round was brutal for Nunez, as Diaz poured it on, throwing nonstop power shots to the head of the beaten-looking Mexican warrior.
The Knockdowns That Swung It
‘Sugar’ Nunez scored two knockdowns in the seventh round that helped him get the victory. The first knockdown was a punch that landed on the shoulder of Diaz and traveled up to the back of his head to put him down.
In the second knockdown in the seventh, Eduardo caught Diaz with a right hand as he was throwing. In both cases, the wet canvas may have played a role, as the decal was slippery, causing Diaz considerable difficulty.
The scores
I think the scores were too wide. Diaz fought well enough to win five to six rounds. However, the two knockdowns in the seventh are what hurt his chances of winning. The pro-Nunez crowd made it appear at times that he was doing better than he actually was. They were screaming whenever he landed. His shots were connecting with the same force as the more powerful blows from Diaz.
