Luis Nery Defeats Azat Hovhannisyan in an Instant Classic at Pomona

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2023

Luis-Nery-Defeats-Azat-Hovhannisyan-in-an-Instant-Classic-at-Pomona

POMONA — Expectations were high when Luis Nery and Azat Hovhannisyan entered the prize ring. They quickly proved the ceiling was too low to the sold-out crowd with an explosion of punches and blows that left the Pomona crowd breathless on Saturday.

Pomona, consider yourself baptized into the boxing world.

Mexico’s Nery (34-1, 26 KOs) defeated Armenia’s Hovhannisyan (21-4, 17 KOs) by knockout in the 11^th round, but not before tantalizing the fans at Fox Theater with dizzying back and forth action in the Golden Boy Promotions main event.

Fans roared and even three Hall of Fame boxers sitting in the audience had looks of astonishment at the hellfire administered by the two prizefighters. Who said boxing is dying?

Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and Sugar Shane Mosley sat and watched with eyes riveted to the action swirling in the boxing ring like a full-fledged cyclone.

Tijuana’s Nery, a southpaw, had expected a firefight of some degree, but normally his fleet footedness and quickness allow him the freedom to pick and choose moments to stand and punch.

Not tonight.

Hovhannisyan usually devours opponents with a steady stream of nonstop blows, but was more calculating against the former bantamweight and super bantamweight world champion. He took a few rounds to probe and study the Mexican fighter’s moves. But that’s all.

After both fighters urged the other on with hand gestures and taunts, the action ignited in the third round and fans realized something special was going on.

Nery’s defense and quickness allowed him to set traps for the constant rushes by Hovhannisyan. But the Armenian fighter with a relentless style took the blows with zeal just to be able to land his own. At the end of three rounds the fighter called “Crazy A” was bloodied and bruised. But he walked to his corner with a look of hunger similar to bloodlust.

In the fourth round, Hovhannisyan opened up with big blows that caught Nery flush. He seemed embarrassed and retaliated with savagery, as if to punish the Armenian fighter for shaming him.

Then came the fifth round and once again Hovhannisyan embarrassed the Mexican fighter with quickly timed combos that caught the interest of the crowd. Nery countered with a furious assault of his own that sent Hovhannisyan reeling backwards. And when he charged to empty more blows, he ran into Hovhannisyan’s buzzsaw blows. Both stood looking at each other with a little surprise in their eyes.

It was just getting started.

Nery’s quickness could not be matched, but Hovhannisyan waited for the Mexican fighter to launch his combinations and then countered with his own. A couple of times Nery seemed surprised that Hovhannisyan was connecting. The Armenian fighter was using every trick in his arsenal including holding and hitting, blows below the belt and pushing Nery’s head down and keeping it there. Nobody will notice.

Hovhannisyan usually battles as if his entire family’s salvation depends on it. In this fight, he was possessed.

In the eighth and ninth rounds Hovhannisyan targeted the body with repeated blows and seemed to drain Nery with every connect. Meanwhile, the Mexican fighter seemed to be looking for the perfect moment to counter with a rocket left counter. Twenty-five former opponents had been destroyed by that punch. Nery seemed poised to unleash it.

Just when it looked like the Armenian fighter had turned things around with his relentless attacks, and just when it seemed Hovhannisyan had complete control, Nery unraveled a stunning four punch combo that sent the Armenian fighter reeling across the ring and down to the canvas. The crowd was stunned by the suddenness of the turnaround.

Referee Ray Corona carefully looked at the dazed fighter and signaled him to move to the left and to the right. After a few more seconds looking at his face, the referee shrugged to allow the action to continue. Nery glided into action and delivered another sizzling array of blows. Though Hovhannisyan was still semi-conscious, he managed to avoid another big blow as the round ended.

During the one-minute break the referee, ringside physician and corner men all inspected the damaged fighter. Across the ring the Mexican fighter and his team peered across the ring to see if the fight would resume.

It did.

Hovhannisyan seemed to be in a cloud and walked back into danger with a no surrender attitude. Nery got into his fighting stance and looked ready to pounce when the opportunity looked clear. Hovhannisyan fired punches but the steam was gone. He followed Nery around the ring firing blows but the Mexican fighter did not retaliate. Hovhannisyan fired more blows and suddenly Nery opened up and snapped the Armenian fighter’s head back violently. But Hovhannisyan remained standing to absorb more blows from Nery and the referee jumped in to stop the ferocious fight at 1:51 of the 11^th round.

Nery was declared the winner by knockout. The crowd let out a giant sigh of relief. People shook their heads in amazement at the intense action they had just witnessed. Even veteran scribes murmured among each other they had witnessed a gem.

It’s not often a prize fight exceeds expectations. This one far surpassed even the most optimistic.

“I trained hard for this fight,” said Nery still breathless 30 minutes after the fight. “I came prepared with plans A, B, and C. I was ready.”

Golden Boy’s De La Hoya said the fight was an eliminator for the WBC super bantamweight title now held by America’s Stephen Fulton who is set to fight Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue later this year.

“I want the Monster,” said Nery.

Mosley Victorious

Pomona’s own Shane Mosley Jr. (19-4, 10 KOs) emerged the winner by unanimous decision over Mexico’s Mario Lozano (33-11, 24 KOs) after 10 rounds. Every round was competitive but the son of the great Sugar Shane Mosley fended off the sneak attacks of the Mexican fighter.

Mosley was the taller fighter and used his reach and defense to deflect Lozano’s surprise attacks. The Mexican fighter had more tricks than the usual veteran and every so often surprised Mosley.

It wasn’t enough.

Aside from a solid defense Mosley has just as solid a chin. Both fighters had solid chins but Mosley was the more frequent puncher and after 10 rounds all three judges saw it in favor of Mosley 100-90, and 99-91 twice.

It was Mosley’s first pro fight in his hometown. A large portion of the crowd came to see him perform.

Other Bouts

Flyweight prospect Ricardo Sandoval (21-2, 16 KOs) of Rialto, Calif. needed a round to study the tall Nicaraguan fighter Jerson Ortiz (17-7, 8 KOs). And then in the second round during an exchange Sandoval blasted Ortiz in the belly and down he went for the count at 2:46 of the second round.

Super middleweight Rowdy Montgomery (9-4-1, 6 KOs) of Victorville, Calif. proved too strong for San Diego’s Christian Olivas (22-9, 19 KOs) and won by decision after eight rounds.

Hawaii’s Asa Stevens (4-0, 2 KOs) used his speed and accuracy to pummel Nicaragua’s Jenn Gonzalez (9-17-1) and end the fight at the end of the second round by technical knockout.

Ukrainian heavyweight Andrii Novytskyi (1-0) won his pro debut by knockout of Gabriel Costa (1-4) at 1:22 of the first round. A one-two combination ended the fight.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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David A. Avila

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

2 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

2 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

3 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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