Unbeaten Nery pulls off TKO win over Villanueva

Arthur Villanueva (left) shows his sportsmanship as he poses with his opponent, WBC world bantamweight champion Luis Nery.
From Arthur Villanueva’s FB page

Arthur “King” Villanueva put on a valiant stand in front of a partisan crowd in Tijuana, Mexico, but eventually faltered in the hands of the reigning WBC world bantamweight champion Luis “Pantera” Nery via a sixth-round technical knockout yesterday.

Nery pinned Villanueva to the ropes and connected on several punches to force the referee to stop the bout at the 1:35 mark of the sixth round of non-title 10-rounder bout.

Nery, who was recently ordered by the WBC to schedule an immediate rematch with Japanese Shinsuke Yamanaka due to doping issues, remained unbeaten in 25 fights. He has 19 wins by knockouts.

The 28-year-old Bago City, Negros Occidental native Villanueva, a two-time world title challenger, suffered his third defeat against 31 wins. He has 17 knockouts victories.

ALA Boxing Gym’s Villanueva went to-to-toe with Nery early on but the unbeaten Mexican boxer recovered right away, connecting on fierce combinations in the first round.

In the second round, Villanueva found a way to counter Nery’s onslaught by connecting on jabs and straights but that, still, was not enough to slow down the Mexican world champion.

Nery connected more of the telling blows until the fourth round when Villanueva countered the champion with a right overhand followed by a short left uppercut. Nery was sent down to his knees as the crowd went silent, but he managed to get back on his feet immediately.

Villanueva gained momentum in the fifth round as his counter punches found its target, but Nery closed the round by pounding the former at the ropes anew.

In the sixth round, Nery was able to connect several hooks and straights which prompted the referee to stop the bout.