Luis Nery gets the late stoppage!
Weight troubles continued for Luis Nery as he needed some extra work to make the limit during the weigh-in.
Nery (29-0, 23KOs) will also be looking to extend his ten-fight KO streak to eleven. Juan Carlos Payano (21-2, 9KOs) is hoping the stars align for him in this battle of southpaws as he looks to regain world champion contender status.
The Breakdown
To start the fight one thing that’s noticeable, other than Nery’s size advantage, is the awkwardness of Payano.
It definitely put Nery off balance, as he struggled to find proper punching range. The first three rounds were extremely hard to score.
While Payano is definitely winning in the volume department, his opponent is landing the more effective punches. This tenor seems to be very consistent, but going into round four, Nery seems to find a home for his vaunted left-hand.
In rounds six and seven, the Mexican contender makes an adjustment and is concentrating on the body. The body punching is having the desired effect as Payano’s work-rate is slowing.
Going into round eight he seems to have finally mastered range, as he’s able to connect to Payano’s head and body at will. The challenger also has a bloody nose to go along with being visibly fatigued.
In round nine, Nery drops Payano with a devastating liver blow that he was unable to recover from.
Nery has now positioned himself to be in contention for the WBSS winner between Nonito Donaire and Naoya Inoue.
As for Payano, he made a respectable account of himself and proved that he can be a problem for anyone in the division.
By: Corey Cunningham
