By Francisco Salazar

Bantamweight contender Luis Nery got off the floor in the first round to put away Raymond Tabugon in the fourth round of action. Nery is ranked number two by the WBC and number five by the WBA. The 10 round bout took place at El Foro Chiapas in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico.

The southpaw Nery (22-0, 16 KOs) has risen through the ranks of the bantamweight division by decimating his opposition in 2016. The Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico resident has now stopped seven of his last eight opponents.

In his last bout on October 22, Nery stopped former world title challenger Richie Mepranum in the second round.

Tabugon (18-7-1, 8 KOs) has now lost four of his last five bouts. In his last bout, the fighter from General Santos City in the Philippines lost a 10 round decision to Juan Francisco Estrada.

In the main event, Ramon Alvarez (24-5-2, 16 KOs), who is the older brother of Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez,  battered Matthew Strode (24-4, 9 KOs) for a fourth round TKO in a 10 round junior middleweight bout.

Alvarez lost a 10 round split decision to Antonio Margarito on August 13. Strode lost an eight round decision to Mark DeLuca on September 17, snapping a four bout winning streak.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing