CARSON, Calif. – The bloodlust campaign of crushing junior lightweight knockout artist Eduardo Nunez hit the United States with a cracking and emphatic one-sided stoppage win against Miguel Marriaga on Saturday night.
Nunez (28-1, 28 KOs) systematically broke down and beat the former world title challenger Marriaga (31-8, 26 KOs), knocking him down once in the fourth round and again in the sixth, forcing the fight to be called off in the corner before the seventh round started.
When the contest was called off, Nunez had already landed 148 punches (49 to the body) compared to 70 from Marriaga, and the matter of the result was only when – not if – Nunez would put Marriaga away.
The fight was officially ruled a sixth-round technical knockout win for Nunez.
The contest served as the co-main for the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN headlined by super middleweights Diego Pacheco and Maciej Sulecki at the Dignity Health Sports Park.
With the excellent win, Nunez kept himself in line to face the winner of 130-pound titleholder Anthony Cacace’s defense against Josh Warrington on Sept. 21.
The 27-year-old “Sugar” Nunez’s pulverizing power was on full display from the onset as he walked, stocked and chopped down the brave Marriaga, who suffered just the second stoppage loss of his 15-year career. The other came against Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2017.
After a slow first round, the heavy-handed Nunez rocked Marriaga in the second and got the 37-year-old Colombian on shaky legs from a left hook to the body followed by a big overhand right to the jaw.
Nunez went back on the attack in the third, swinging for the fences and landing several big shots targeting the head and body. The tassels from Nunez’s trunks were flying as he was steamrolling Marriaga in his Matchroom debut.
A Nunez left hook to the body and an overhand right hand nearly knocked Marriaga out of the ring in the fourth as he slumped into the bottom rope. But Marriaga resiliently got back up, showcasing tremendous courage and heart to withstand the furious flurry. He even fired back as best as he could while Nunez unloaded. Marriaga survived the round and sat on his stool with a nod and a smile.
As Nunez’s head-hunting Nunez continued in the fifth, Marriaga slipped and clipped him with a crisp uppercut. But Nunez still dominated the round, bullying Marriaga from pillar to post.
As the sixth round closed, Nunez again connected with a left hook to the body and a straight right hand that dropped Marriaga, this time on a delayed reaction.
The valiant Marriaga got up and was saved by the bell, but then his corner did him right and saved him from there.
Arturo Cardenas and Jesus Arechiga did not come into their clash as known commodities in the junior featherweight division, but after 10 hard-fought rounds, the skilled sluggers left their encounter as emerging contenders to keep an eye on.
Their high-paced fight was tight and competitive, and the close scorecards reflected that, as Cardenas (15-0-1, 8 KOs) was awarded with the split decision win to keep his undefeated record intact with scores of 98-92 and 96-94, while a third judge had it 96-94 for Arechiga.
The punch statistics were close as well, as Cardenas connected on 126 of 442 of his punches, while Arechiga fired back with 120 of 472. According to CompuBox, both fighters were separated by four or fewer landed punches in seven of the rounds.
The seesaw tilt never swayed in favor of either fighter, as they each showed a great account of themselves in the firefight.
The immensely active Cardenas made his pro debut in 2021, and the 23-year-old, who is trained by Robert Garcia, appeared relieved to sneak by with the win.
The unknown Arechiga (21-2, 15 KOs), a 24-year-old from Mexico, was making his U.S. debut and was coming off a unanimous decision loss in his most recent matchup in March.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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