Abraham Nova Wears Down Encarnacion, Calls for a Fight with Emanuel Navarrete
At the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, Abraham “El Super” Nova (21-0, 15 KOs) faced late-replacement William Encarnacion (19-2, 15 KOs) in a scheduled ten-round junior lightweight contest. Going in, Nova was looking to make a statement and bounce back from a 2020 and 2021 beset by personal turmoil.
From June 2020 to August 2021, Nova was sidelined due to an Achilles injury. He returned to the ring in August of 2021 with an eight-round decision win over Richard Pumicpic. Ranked third by the WBO at 130 pounds, Nova views 2022 as a year to make up for what he feels as lost momentum.
He faced an Encarnacion who was a substitute for Jose Enrique Vivas who withdrew due to injury. A former 2012 Olympian from the Dominican Republic, on paper he sports a decent record. But, his career has been underwhelming. In July of 2019, he was KO’d by then-unbeaten Giovanni Guitierrez and has not been the same since. Encarnacion came into the bout against Nova off a thirteen-month layoff and fought for the first time away from the Dominican Republic.
A SURPRISING START
A battle of right-handers, Encarnacion began matters applying steady pressure. He got off to a good start, and midway through the opening round, he buzzed Nova’s with a right hand to the chin, but Nova shook it off. He started to work the jab, then used his footwork to create angles for right hands, hooks, and uppercuts from outside. Nova also found a home for hooks to the side and short shots inside.
It was during the middle rounds where Nova started to take over. He was controlling the pace and working the Dominican who had the look of a fighter on shaky legs. At the end of the seventh, Encarnacion was getting tagged by a series of shots and was saved by the bell.
CHALLENGED ISSUED
Nova continued to swarm in the eighth. Fifty-eight seconds into the round, Encarnacion’s corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. Despite his high ranking at junior lightweight, Nova has decided to move down to 126 and is now campaigning as a featherweight. He has eyes on a fight with current WBO world featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete, who called out in the post-fight interview.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
