Luis Nery Returns to Form with Win Over Carlos Castro
In his latest in-ring contest, super bantamweight fighter Luis “Pantera” Nery (32-1, 24 KO’s) returned to his winning ways. In his previous dustup, with Brandon Figueroa, Nery suffered his first professional loss by way of seventh round knockout. Even his bout directly before Figuroa, against Aaron Alameda, was flat and uninspiring.
This is what made his most recent duel versus Carlos Castro (27-1, 12 KO’s) that much more pressing. Luckily for Pantera, he was able best his Mexican adversary by way of split decision. With the win, Nery has also won a WBO and WBC super bantamweight title eliminator.
A great deal has changed for Nery since the days that he launched his professional career. The thunderous punching pugilist was deemed to have an exceedingly bright future in front of him. Yet the loss, setback on the weight scale, splitting with world renowned trainer Eddy Reynoso and a failed drug test have seriously cooled the temperature of his professional journey. Armed with the recent win, it will be revealing to see what Nery, who is ranked #7 (WBC) and #12 (WBO) does next.
For Castro, this is no doubt the ugly outcome that he certainly meant to avoid. The defeat should not come as a colossal shock as Nery was the most accomplished boxer that Castro has fought to date. Yet, this realization will likely not prove to be a soothing balm for his bruised pride and professional standing.
TOO SLIPPERY
After a nondescript opening minute, Nery rudely crumpled Castro down on the canvas with a short straight left. He would sit there on the seat of his pants until dangerously high in the count before he attempted to get up. Thankfully for Castro, he would go on to beat the count and hear the bell. Despite the lightning-quick first round, the second and third periods were far more even keeled, mundane rounds.
Nery was certainly the aggressor who pressed the action and pursued a mobile Castro. Yet, now he was not landing anything overly destructive. Castro did well enough but was not connecting with any overly noteworthy offensive either. For a brief stint in the fourth, the two boxers waged open war in the phonebooth. Despite their zeal and proximity, nothing of consequence landed for either.
While they did not battle with the same reckless abandon, Pantera and Castro each landed quality leather throughout the fifth. During the sixth, Nery began pulling away by utilizing his fancy footwork and superior offense. Here, Pantera literally boxed circles around Castro while peppering him with consistent thudding shots.
LATE FIGHT DRAMA
For the next several rounds, Nery was undeniably in control. Then in the eighth, he pushed Castro to the ropes and threw roughly a 16-punch combination uncontested. The same round would end with Castro being pummeled along the ropes. Very little changed about the state of affairs over the final two rounds of the prizefight. Therefore there was notable surprise when the scorecards had Pantera winning by way of split-decision with the scores of 95-94 Castro, 95-94 Nery and 96-93 Nery.
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By: Bakari Simpson
