Mexican fighter Eduardo Nunez isn’t afraid of fighting abroad. After knocking out Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in Tajikistan last year, earning the right to fight for the IBF super featherweight world title, yesterday “Sugar” was crowned world champion in Yokohama, Japan, clearly defeating local hero Masanori Rikiishi on points. These were the official scorecards that unanimously rewarded Nunez: 115–113, 116–112, 117–111.
The feeling-out phase lasted just one round before the stocky Mexican boxer began charging forward in his trademark style, unleashing the immense power of his punches. It only took a few shots in the early moments of round two for Rikiishi to realize it was best to keep his distance. Thus began a real chase, with Nunez relentlessly hunting his opponent around the ring.
As long as the tall Japanese southpaw had the legs and breath to circle rapidly around his rival, counterpunching before darting away to avoid the return fire, Sugar had trouble finding his target, sometimes missing wildly. But maintaining that kind of tactical approach for all twelve rounds would have required whale lungs and antelope legs, and by round four, Rikiishi had to stop and stand his ground more often.
As soon as he had the chance to fight at close range, Nunez let loose with his full arsenal. Though a bit stiff in his movements, the Mexican showed excellent ability to vary his attacks, mixing powerful hooks to the head with sudden straight rights to the pit of the stomach.
For the Japanese fighter, clearly uncomfortable in the clinch, the real punishment began—also because Rikiishi only occasionally tried to slow down the Mexican’s onslaught by punching with full power. The local favorite seemed focused more on precision than force, and unable to contain Nunez’s fury, he was forced to go into damage-control mode.
Nunez collected point after point, clearly pulling ahead, with only a partial setback in the eighth round, which Rikiishi may have won—but at the cost of a massive energy expenditure that left him slower in the rounds that followed.
Nunez was especially dominant in the tenth round, rocking his opponent early with a brutal right hand to the face and forcing him to grit his teeth just to survive the storm. Still, Rikiishi deserves credit for displaying an outstanding chin, going the distance without ever hitting the canvas.
From my perspective, the six-point margin in Eduardo Nunez’s favor recorded by judge Chris Wilson is the most accurate score, as the fight was largely controlled by the Mexican puncher, who imposed himself in a clear, clean, and undeniable fashion.
In the hours following the bout, Masanori Rikiishi published a post stating that he had suffered a shoulder injury which had prevented him from sparring in the last month of training and that he would undergo surgery next week. This news could make a rematch more appealing in the future, as it did seem during the fight that the Japanese athlete was holding back and not throwing with his usual explosiveness.
If Rikiishi can notch a few solid wins after recovering from surgery, it would indeed be interesting to see these two excellent fighters face off again. Their fight yesterday was enjoyable, and a rematch with both men at their peak could be even more so.