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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