‘Special’ Eduardo Nunez is ‘the next superstar of Mexican boxing’

Eddie Hearn is effusive in his praise for another Eddie — the junior-lightweight contender Eduardo Nunez.

“Nunez is different,” Hearn said. 

“A very, very special fighter,” he also said. “I believe this is the next superstar of Mexican boxing.”

The promoter of course has a rooting interest for Nunez, who is signed to Matchroom Boxing. Nunez will face Miguel Marriaga on Saturday on the undercard of Diego Pacheco-Maciej Sulecki at super middleweight, at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Nunez, a 27 year old from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, is 27-1 (27 KOs), though his 11th-round technical knockout of Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in February is not listed on BoxRec (according to a BoxRec editor, that may be due to the show being promoted by the IBA, which largely looks over amateur boxing, and how the local athletic commission reports those fights).

Nunez’s lone loss came in 2018 – a close six-round decision to the 9-2-2 Hiram Gallardo. Since then he has won 17 fights in succession, which Hearn considers a combination of styles and a fine skill set.

“Nunez is Mexican, but he has a fantastic boxing IQ as well,” Hearn said. “I really feel like this guy has got it all. He’s a massive puncher but he’s also a very good technician with very good boxing fundamentals; a really smart boxing IQ. That win [against] Rakhimov in Russia [note: It was in Tajikistan]; imagine you’ve been sent out to Russia to fight a final eliminator. And Rakhimov is a machine. He [Nunez] stuck it on him all night. He hung with him. He worked his body over until he just battered him to a pulp.

“Just an incredible performance,” Hearn said at another point. “Someone that will go into the lion’s den and face anybody.”

Marriaga (31-7, 26 KOs) is a 37 year old from Miami by way of Colombia. He lost three straight — dropping decisions to Eduardo Ramirez in 2021, Michael Conlan in 2022 and Jono Carroll in 2023 — before returning in June with an eight-round decision over the 9-13-3 Andres Perez.

“Marriaga is tough,” Hearn said, referencing the fact that the win over Rakhimov made him the mandatory challenger for the winner of the upcoming IBF title fight between Anthony Cacace and Josh Warrington, on September 21 in London. “He has the winner of Cacace-Warrington locked in. He just needs to come through Saturday night.”

And that eventual fight with the winner of Cacace-Warrington could be just the beginning for Nunez, Hearn said.

“I think he’s one of the hardest punchers, pound-for-pound, in the sport of boxing,” Hearn said. “I believe he’s going to go on and be a world champion in many divisions for a long, long time.”

Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.