Sugar Nunez gets tougher than expected test to retain IBF title

Many expected Sugar Nunez to steamroll Christopher Diaz on Saturday night and retain his IBF junior lightweight title spectacularly, live on DAZN in front of his hometown crowd in Centro de Usos Múltiples Los Mochis in Los Mochis, Mexico. 

Diaz provided a tougher-than-expected test for Nunez. But when it was all said and done, Nunez dropped Diaz twice to win a wide unanimous decision and retain his IBF crown (117-109, 117-109, 116-110).

For the first half of the fight, it was a nip-and-tuck affair. Diaz  (30-5, 19 KOs) had proved to be a formidable foe by fighting well on the inside and landing numerous power shots to Nunez. It had looked like Nunez would struggle with the toughness of Diaz.

But the champion started to prove his mettle in the seventh round. 

A delayed decision by the referee about halfway through the seventh as Nunez sent Diaz to the canvas with an overhand right that had Diaz’s right hand touching the mat. Then Nunez poured the pressure on. With about 55 seconds left in the round, Nunez sent Diaz right back to the mat with a crushing overhand right that definitively sent him to the mat. Diaz made it back to his feet to survive the round.

From there, Nunez had things under control, but Diaz made it a dogfight by continuing his constant pressure. But Nunez (29-1, 28 KOs) was able to thwart the attack and make a successful first title defense. 

With that homecoming fight out of the way, Nunez can now look forward to bigger fights in the future. That was evidenced by Nunez's post-fight confrontation with WBO titleholder Emanuel Navarrete.